The Black Rose
by DeltaCadimus
Summary: Post Killzone 3/AU  Despite having past all the fire and fury, a return to hell is warranted. A Helghan which endured the worse is now fractured. And, in the middle of it all, two persons pretend to retake power and a lost Dream, even against each other.
1. Prologue

**THE BLACK ROSE**  
**AN ORIGINAL AND UN-OFFICIAL KILLZONE FAN-FICTION**

**PROLOGUE**

**HELGHAN - MAY 21ST, 2360**

_The loss of the First Extrasolar War to Earth's ISA forces has left the survivors of the Helghan Corporation stranded and hopeless on the barren homeworld of the same name. This, along with decades of inefficient and corrupt administration, allowed a man called Scolar Visari to ascend to power and establish a fascist-like society over what they now call themselves 'Helghast'._

_Quickly militarizing the planet and radically changing cultural aspects of Helghan's society, Visari claimed himself the Autarch, Emperor of the Helghast, imposing his dream of expansion. Visari launched an unprovoked, but failed invasion campaign on the neighboring lush planet of Vekta and the local ISA forces stationed there. The Second Extrasolar War had begun._

_The ISA responded the act of war in 2359 with an invasion fleet headed to Helghan, led by Vektan war hero Jan Templar, with the goal of aprehending Visari and restoring freedom and order to Helghan. Unfortunately, the ISA came to underestimate Helghast weapons' technology and the zeal of the Helghast: The majority of the ISA invasion fleet was destroyed, Templar was killed in action and the original objectives failed with Visari's death by hands of ISA trooper Rico Velasquez._

_Visari's death left the Helghast Empire in a power vacuum, but also increased the enemy hatred for the ISA. The original invasion ground forces, led by Captain Jason Narville, sought to retreat to Vekta and regroup, but were stranded for six months. During this period, ISA remnants battled both forces of the original Helghast military, under Admiral Orlock, and private military forces loyal to Jorhan Stahl, Chairman of Helghan's primary weapons' distributor._

_In a daring attack which also involved a rescue operation, Narville, Velasquez and ISA soldier Thomas Sevchenko succeeded in leaving Helghan, returning the invasion force to Vekta and tearing apart a Helghast plan to invade and irradiate Earth, but with drastic results: The entire Helghan was saturated with the same Petrusite weapons intended for Earth and other ISA planets. All life and even the Helghast species are presumed extinguished._

_However, what is not known is that there are remnants of the once Helghast Empire still living on the newly desolated world. Out of the ten billion Helghast once living on Helghan, only one million still live. And out of the one hundred and twenty cities, towns and villages once standing, one still stands._

* * *

Unlike what many books, comics, movies and games and other media of the sci-fi genre would suggest, space wasn't beautiful. It was merely trillions and trillions of specks of dust, merely floating over the black void. The only feature to it was the sun and it's glowing sovereignity, but still that wasn't impressive enough. And the other features like planets and moons were simply too dull to be impressive, the only difference amongst planets being their immobile like appearance.

But one planet recently became the exception. A planet filled with a greenish atmosphere, but acting the most chaotic and violent way ever imagined. Recently because two facts were known of what happened: The event was man-made. And it was a product of war. The planet in question, called Helghan, wasn't always like that, it was a mere dull ball of rock. But, thanks to the actions of a few men against a huge army, the effects of irradiated Petrusite have virtually wiped out the same huge army and all life on the surface. The same men who flied away from the planet and it's moon in a varied group of stolen enemy gunships.

Gunships, obviously, aren't confortable to sleep in, not when piloting manually neither in auto-pilot, which was set to Vekta, a lush Eden-like planet not so far, but a few days away from Helghan, given the speed of those gunships. But that was what Thomas Sevchenko and Rico Velasquez had to make due, despite the fact they could sleep in the conforting quarters of a huge space cruiser. The problem was, obviously, there was no space cruiser nearby.

Sevchenko, most of his friends getting used to call him 'Sev', and Velasquez, whom everyone mentions by his first name, had different appearance and stature. Sev was caucasian, tall and hoarded a hair and facial hair more fit for militia or World War I soldiers. Rico had the same hair and beard problem, but beared a standard quasi-black power. He himself had a skin color of a mix between Latin-American and African-American racial features, was considerably shorter than Sev and had temper issues compared to his 'gunman' in the backseat. But, if there was one thing they had in common, were the colors they worked with: The standard olive-green military issue of the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance, created to protect and keep order over the colonies of Earth, humanity's homeworld under the flag of the United Colonial Nations, reformed over Earth's 21st Century's UN once humanity expanded it's borders through out Mars and outside the Sol System. As the second thing was they worked together on the same Alpha Squadron, though Rico was somewhat five years older in battle experience than Sev.

Both of them were calm, but also worried at the same time what would happen if the UCN and ISA High Command found out it were they who had the brilliant idea of doing that stunt move than unleashed the Petrusite Armageddon. Hell, at least that was the name Rico made up in that hour. They had a lot of action in just one day, but still, morale went on high. Despite so many losses, so many shortcomings and the fact of staying stranded in the enemy-infested hellhole for over _six_ months, they didn't just prevent the hated Helghast Empire from devastating Earth with their new weapons of mass destruction, they brought down a whole Empire, and with just one blast! Now, the only detail the UCN and ISA wasn't aware of was the fact it might have come at the cost of virtually the entire Helghast species, courtesy of the worldwide irradiated Petrusite blast. Still, they'd face the consequences when they'd come. After all, they weren't the ones toying with something so dangerous like that, the Helghast had their part on it, by trying to turn it into a weapon against the ISA.

On another gunship, however, a short-haired caucasian man, Captain Jason Narville, didn't agree with any of that. He didn't agree with everything his two subordinates did, despite the successful results of these moves, as well as he'd be damned if they got acclaimed for the feat of defeating the Helghast (Higs, as ISA lower ranks would name) and ending the Second Extrasolar War. 'Extrasolar' because Helghan, as well as Vekta, were outside the boundaries of the Sol System. Narville, anyways, was thinking of several ideas, ideas of doing something rather than facing court-martial and going to history as the man who killed a whole species, because one thing was certain for him: He wouldn't fall down along with Velasquez and Sevchenko because of their gung-ho tactics. And they were out of their minds, going back home when there was a high probabilty of the ISA figuring out it was they who unleashed world-wide destruction.

Commiting suicide? It was possible, the Soviet officers in World War II did so to avoid court-martial for failing to hold against the Nazi Germans. But Narville wasn't so much capable of taking his own life, as he was taught in catholic schools suicidals went straight to Hell. Running away or go into hiding would be useful, but that'd only incite the ISA to scour systems with their technology to look for him as a criminal. Changing everything, from identities to his own face would mean he'd need to spend resources he didn't have with contacts he didn't know who they were or where to look for. The ideas just kept coming, one more insane than the other, with beneficial results, but ultimately came also the problems who'd counter-balance potential with crude reality.

Questions also came through the Captain's head: _Why to accept you and your men just murdered ten billion people? Why would you take the fall along with Sevchenko and Velasquez? It was they who had to answer for what they did, Rico above anyone else: He started the whole damn thing when he shot the Helghast Autarch to death! Now, as Rico was used to have a deep hatred for the Higs, he got the wish of his life, he massacred a whole planet and a whole damn species went along the drain!_ Narville was now wishing he was dead in Helghan instead of running back to Vekta, knowing he'd have to face a bunch of bureaucrats and Human Rights activists screaming the names '_Murderer_', '_Bastard_' and '_Genocide_' at him.

So much lives, so many faces, those he knew shooting them face front with his guns and those he didn't even came to know of in the holocaust. It was too much, even for him, who faced off insurgents, terrorists and riots. Who witnessed first hand Helghast determination when they detonated nuclear ordinance, stolen from the ISA, on their own city... What were nukes, compared to what irradiate Petrusite could do? What even _were_ nukes? From what he saw minutes ago, nuclear weapons were just planetary grenades!

"Sir?"

But, in a sudden, all thoughts and all that silence went dead with a voice, coming from his pilot on the frontal seat.

"Sir... Are you okay?", once against the pilot asked.

"Oh, Rodent... Nothing much. Just, uh... Much in the head.", Narville replied.

"Sounds like you worried about how we'll explain that.", replied Rodent, gesturing at the Petrusite-filled globe.

"Yes, soldier... Something like that.", Narville said after taking a moment to consider it. He also let a brief sigh on what Rodent claimed.

The young, caucasian pilot also took a moment to reflect on what his superior officer claimed. That meant Rodent would also face some serious trouble with the investigation crew, given Rodent was close to Narville most of the time, more than Hooper was. The bureaucrats wouldn't be able to dig out anything related of the incident out of Rodent, but doubtless they'd make a deal to lie about him and bring the whole world down over poor Narville.

The only thing was that if there was something Rodent learned in his years of training was that the Corps' problems weren't politicians' problems, and doing such a thing with a brother in arms meant turning on the Corps, his own dignity, and his fellow men on a farther scale. But it would be nigh impossible for him, or Narville, to get away with such a huge load like that.

Unless...

"Sir? I don't know if you'll agree with it, but...", Rodent suggested but also hesitated.

"What? What's it, Rodent?", asked Narville, having his attention caught by Rodent's voice.

"Well, Captain, I don't know how to smooth it, but, uh...", continued Rodent, hesitant of the Captain's possible reaction.

"What?", insisted Narville.

Rodent just let out a brief sight and went straight to the point. "I think it'd be far safer for both of us if we just... ran away."

A moment of silence echoed through the small ship. Narville then released a brief, sarcastic laugh. "And where to, might I ask?", asked him. "No, offense, son, but even the closest ISA space post is likely to go on top of us the moment we set foot on it."

"I didn't mean any of it, sir.", replied Rodent. "One of my uncles, he's pretty old now, owns a farm in the Baltus colony, somewhat afar from normal ISA surveillance. He's one amongst my family who supports every ISA decision, but he thinks family comes first, and he's not so keen with military. We might go there and he could hand us some solace."

"Really?", asked Narville, but still with a sarcastic tone. Not that the idea was bad, Baltus, a farming colony on ISA borders, was perfect to lay low, but the Captain wasn't too sure about it. It was likely someone would tip them off. "And how we're supposed to make it, if we'll have the whole ISA intel looking every rock for us?", Narville inquired.

"If we head there now, land, get rid of the ship and lay low on foot 'til we get there.", answered Rodent. "I just need your say so, and we're both away from the group. Yes or no, sir?"

Narville sit back for a while and tried to consider. But he knew a decision had to be made. A decision concerning his future and that of his loyal and more obedient subordinate.

* * *

"Sev? Rico? Any of you in?", called a female voice on the gunship radio, the ship where the mentioned two were in. The voice belong to Jammer, a hood female caucasian on one of the gunships.

"Sev? Rico?", Jammer asked again. The radio's voice made Sev wake up and slowly pick the co-pilot radio on his right side, replying in an almost-sleeping manner.

"Jammer? Is that you?", Sev asked.

"No, jackass, it's Santa wishing happy holidays.", replied Jammer in a gung-ho fashion. "Now wake Rico up, I think we got a leak."

"A what?", Sev inquired.

"Someone just broke off from the group.", Jammer said.

"Huh?", Sev didn't get the message quite clearly.

"Look to the left.", Jammer explained. Sev did so, beholding one stolen Helghast dropship going in a different direction.

That sight was all Sev needed to snap off his dream time, he looked to Rico in the front seat and tapped his head. "Rico, wake up. Hey, Rico!"

"Uh, what?" The sergeant woke up scared from his sleep time, looking sideways. When he realized he was safe in the gunship's seat, a feeling of tired annoyance went over him. "Sev, what the fuck..."

"Your left, Rico!", urged Sev, pointing at the now tiny gunship.

Rico did so, seeing a gunship go away. "Huh?" He widened his eyes to the new event. "Who the hell is that?"

"I don't know, but Jammer told he's a broker. He's off course and from us.", Sev answered.

"**WHAT?**", Rico already snapped off his sleeping behaviour, more alert than if we has in a base under siege. He picked up the radio in front of him. "This is Raider 1, all units, rise and shine! One of you just broke off, who the fuck was it?"

"Not me and Hooper, sure as hell.", replied Jammer.

"Come on guys, reply who's here.", Sev insisted. Other voices came on the radios.

"Raider 3 is here, Alvarez and Gutmann.", a male voice came on the radio.

"Raider 5, Natko and Miller. We're still here.", another male voice also replied.

"Raider 4, Kowalski and Devon here.", another voice followed. Male.

"Raider 6 still on course and on group, Lloyd and Dunbar.", the final voice replied.

But no answer came from Raider 2.

"Raider 2, you there?", Rico asked. "Is it you Raider 2?"

No reply came.

"NARVILLE, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?", Rico shouted, almost being certain it was their Captain who literally 'jumped ship'. After no replies, the answer confirmed the suspect.

"Wait, so it was _Narville?_", asked Natko. "Doesn't make sense, where the hell he'd go?"

"Like if I know. And a better question is: Why he'd go now?", replied Sev, wondering. Did it have something to do with what just happened? Who could know the reasons?

"Scratch it, Raider 1.", replied Kowalski. "Want us to go after him?"

"Screw it.", replied Rico. "Whatever he's up to, it's better off we leave him."

"But, Rico... Ain't he the Cap?", asked Natko.

"Captain Pussy, if you ask me.", replied Jammer.

Rico couldn't help but let out a laughter, something he didn't do for a long time. _'Captain Pussy?'_, he thought. _'Sounds even like a sunday cartoon reject! Where the fuck did she get that one out?'_ Not even in the most desperate hours people like Jammer and the once alive Pvt. Dante Garza lost their sense of humour.

"Anyways, we still have a long way back to Vekta, so we'd waste time pursuing him.", Jammer said, returning to the subject. "Who guarantees those babies won't run out of juice?"

"She's got a point, Raider 1.", Kowalski replied. "Where ever Narville's going, just leave him. The jumping ship attitude will only make things hard for him."

"Yeah.", replied Sev. "Speaking of which, what we're gonna say to Command once they find out that Petrusite bull move?"

"The usual. Collateral damage.", replied Gutmann.

"Eh, we're not talking 'bout just some bunch of civvies we shot by accident.", commented Natko. "That's 'bout billions we killed with that stunt. That's way heavy."

Everyone went silent that moment. Natko said some pure truth. Things were going to get heavy, given the fact irradiated Petrusite wasn't something to be taken lightly. Still, Rico had one word for them.

"Screw'em top brass. We didn't have the idea. Hell, we didn't even know it'd make that! And that's what we're saying to all the bureaucrats and whatnot. Besides, Narville was top one, right? That'd be his responsibility to keep us on leash."

"Rico, it ain't just that easy!", replied Sev, insulted with such lack of consideration for a superior officer. "Yes, he jumped off, but with reasons. If we're all facing court-martial, he'd take most of the flak! Problem is, you too got issues against the Higs, and that's something they'll use to screw everyone up! But you also told us what to say, so we stick to it. You just control your racist attitude, Rico, and we'll be fine. Same applies to your insubordination."

"Ha! Insubordination!", scoffed Rico. "Case you don't remind, Sev, it was me who saved everyone, including Mr. Ungreatful, back on that rock, right? I even saved you!"

"Yeah, but knowing these types, they don't take it easy like we do.", replied Sev.

"Sorry, Rico, but Sev's right. We gotta lay low for a while.", concluded Jammer. Everyone knew Rico could bring trouble with his attitude, so the best was to keep him on leash. That was until the matter was let by. Not that it'd take a short time for the Petrusite matter to wave away, anyway.

Rico let out a brief sigh. "All right, folks, I lay low. But just for this court-martial shit, alright?"

"Fine. Now, if matters are done with, I'd like to get some rest.", replied Natko.

"Roger. Radio silence from now on, it's gonna be a long trip to Vekta. Raider 1 out.", finished Sev, turning off his radio and putting it back on place. Then he went on to try and sleep again.

Rico, instead, did shut his radio, but he reflected for a while on the reinforced windows outside. He thought of how he didn't have problems like this in the past, way before the invasion of Helghan, during the invasion of Vekta. But then he decided to sleep, what he'd face tomorrow he'd do it tomorrow. That was his way of dealing with things. That day was just another work day.

Therefore, the group of six gunships passed on through Helghast space. In one or two days, they'd reach the border. Should everything go on fine, they'd reach Vektan high orbit.

* * *

_On the surface..._

Many once remembered Helghan as a barren, but a liveable land. The sun would impose it's light and heat over it's dry land, but that was only near areas urbanized by the migthy Helghast Empire. The planet also contained the most exotic, flora and fauna, savage and defying enough to envy the softness of Earth's ecology. It held gigantic polar caps which would prevent, for a far good time, any unpredictable natural events against the subjects of the nation. The night proved to be a far beautiful one, with constellations that'd exemplify the grace of Helghan lying on a bed of Star Gods.

But there was no more of it. Now there was ruin. Devastation. Death. And an endless, green and sickening curtain of tempests and chaotic radiation, imposed by irradiated Petrusite, on what once was a tan, but senere sky. There was few things left intact, and such was the remainder of Helghast kind. Such thing was the pair of Helghast troopers walking towards to what would seem a space pod.

The Helghast had descended from humanity, obviously, having mutated to a point where they grown accostumed to the quasi-toxic atmosphere of Helghan. Many Helghast died from such changes, but those who lived were far stronger, faster, taller and more resilient than any human beings. It was a sort of a trade-off, early hardship for a physical benefit. Over the eons preceding the Second Extrasolar War and after the First one, the Helghast of the current times were nothing short of adaptable. The average Helghast type was pale-skinned, bald and had a sort of natural dark browning in their eyes' lower brows. There were course the Half-Helghast, who retained several human features as hair and such, but still remained Helghast in blood.

When the Autarch emerged to take over the reigns of the once broken people, he demanded all within his realm utilized the respirator mask and googles many forgot so long after their adaptation. Some thought it funny, for it added a evil looking to these soldiers, especially the googles, which radiated a twisted red-yellow glow. That, along with the helmet, earned them several nicknames amongst ISA soldiers: Helmet Men, Bucketheads, Space Nazis... One amongst these soldiers once heard that word, but never knew about it, nor what it meant.

But one thing was certain, they were fortunate the fallen Autarch valued so much those masks, otherwise they'd learn the hard way if the vicious air, once caustic but now contaminated by Petrusite, was breathable. Besides, even for a hardship enduring people like the Helghast, the conditions of the 'new' world were far too much for them. Now, going even outside a habitable Helghast area, not just the planet this time, demanded use of the masks.

Once the two have finally reached the drop pod, marked with the infamous Helghast Triad, they opened it, beholding the figure inside it.

"Welcome home, sir.", said one of the troopers.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?", said the occupant. "Because it's not even FUNNY!"

A hand went off the pod, showing marks of an elder age. One of the Helghast troopers moved foward to lend aid. Grabbing his hand, he pulled off what would seem a Helghast officer, but he wasn't, given the fact everyone he had in the Helghast military was bald. This man in person did wear a respectable outfit with the markings of Helghast military, but he was a civilian, nevertheless. Still, a civilian which could hold a consistent power with the Helghast military.

Jorhan Brimve Stahl. The CEO of _Stahl Arms Inc._ The man responsible for arming every Helghast. The creator of developer of irradiated Petrusite-based weapons. The man who had a hand in the devastation of Helghan.

"Glad to see you are still alive, sir.", the other trooper commented.

"Yes, yes! I know I'm alive, thank you very much.", said Stahl, notcing his surroundings, his work of irradiated Petrusite spread all over Helghan. "But the rest of Helghan isn't...", he muttered, so he wouldn't bring any disagreement from his already doubting men.

"Your command, sir?", asked one of the troopers.

"Are there any shelter we could use?", asked Stahl, concerned about the unpredictable consequences of the irradiated atmosphere.

"There's a small energy signature due North, according to my Visor HUD scans, Chairman.", replied the other Helghast soldier.

"How far?", asked Stahl.

"Five kilometers.", replied the same trooper.

"Let's head there, then-", replied Stahl before coughing, suffering a brief asphyxiation before recovering himself. The soldiers went immediately to his aid, one of them taking out a personal reserve mask from his backpack, meant for emergency situations.

"Sir, perhaps it's better you use it.", said the trooper carrying the mask, offering it to Stahl. The old man grabbed it and weared it. That breather mask was nothing like the Helghast military respirators, which were connected to small tanks hoarding the traditional Helghan air, the mask held two cylinders which were exactly small air tanks, allowing for a temporary breathing. Just long enough to find another emergency mask or a respirator.

"Energy is peaking up nearby, it seems we'll have a ion storm.", one of the troopers said.

"A _what?_", asked Stahl, hearing that one out.

"Ion storm, sir. No rain but all lightning altogether, and can be explosive too with all this Petrusite around.", answered the same Helghast soldier.

"We have to go, Chairman, ASAP.", the other soldier said.

By then, Stahl and the two soldiers walked North, past most of the ruins of former Helghan, from the clusters of ruined and abandoned buildings to the debris of vehicles, tanks and even military aircraft and pieces of plating from capital ships, which once belonged to the former great Helghast Space Navy. There were no corpses, but considerable pools of blood where clothing lied on. The effects of irradiated Petrusite were extreme to the point of making bodies literally explode.

Stahl knew the promising results of irradiated Petrusite long before the nuclear detonation of Pyhrrus. But in that time it were portions of Petrusite being irradiated. Thankfully, the ISA invasion provided plenty of material for his work. Ever since then, technologies like shielding, energy weapons and even compact space fighters were possible. And irradiated Petrusite, Stahl looked in another optic, proved to be far more capable of devastation than Nuclear weapons. That, if use was allowed, would mean the future in the industry and history of warfare.

Still, the price came up too high. Orlock, the man whom Stahl killed in the orbital confrontation, was right. There would be too much to rebuild, and Stahl would even doubt the ISA would let him alone to do his job. There would be incursions. Not military, but scientific. Surely curious eyes wanting to know more of the irradiated Petrusite phenomenom.

After passing through a rocky formation, still heading due North, something caught Stahl's eyes. Something that wasn't natural.

An almost transparent silver-colored half globe was before him, kilometers away.

"What...", he muttered, attempting to look afar.

"Sir, the energies... They seem to be emanating from the globe...", said one of the Helghast troopers.

"What is that?", muttered the other trooper.

"I don't believe it. I thought it failed... It worked!", commented Stahl, in a certain feeling of pride and joy.

That was because, years before even tempering with irradiated Petrusite, a solution needed to be found to protect the infra-structure and military from events like that. Still, it didn't work, and Stahl ordered the project to be canceled, going to work in preventive methods.

Curiously, it worked. It must have been the automated system that activated the shield. It proved the technology worked.

Thanks to what Jorhan Stahl thought it was a failure, there was still surviving life in Helghan. A shelter.

Thanks to Stahl's _'failure'_, Constantine City was still standing.

* * *

**NOTES:**  
- You'll notice this is somewhat of an Alternate Universe (AU) fan fiction because of a few changes: The Helghast Gunships being six instead of just two, like in the game, the fact Narville survived instead of being left behind on the station, among other slight alterations which will be introduced on the progress of this fan fiction.  
- Naturally, I don't own Killzone 3 or any game of the saga. All characters, locations and other stuff included here, except some OCs and other things, like copyright, belong to Sony as well as Guerrilla Games.  
- Progress will somewhat be slow, so don't expect any signs of battles for at least six chapters.

* * *

Read, enjoy and comment. Chapter 1 (This is a prologue.) will come soon.


	2. Chapter 1: Reactions

**THE BLACK ROSE**  
**AN ORIGINAL AND UN-OFFICIAL KILLZONE FAN-FICTION**

**CHAPTER I - REACTIONS**

**PLANET VEKTA, SOUTHERN REGION, RAYHOVEN CITY - MAY 24TH, 2360**

There wasn't anything else being talked about in the video news.

A sudden change in the atmosphere and terrain of Planet Helghan, homeworld to the Helghast, primary enemy of the ISA, confused many scientific minds and shocked half of mankind, from Vekta to Earth. A thing like that wouldn't happen out of nothing, of nowhere! But suddenly it became from barren to sickening green. There _had_ to be an explanation.

Confidential sources informed that, according to preliminary reports, raw Petrusite was unleashed on the planet, possibly in a counter-attack, because of continued presence of ISA troops stranded for six months since the initial invasion. According to what people knew, the ISA _didn't _use Petrusite as a weapon, only as a energy source. There was a high implication of Helghast hands in such thing, but ISA was heavily implicated, too. Someone needed to the pointed guilty for that.

_'Bullshit.'_, thought the man watching the same news. _'If the ISA doesn't have Petrusite-based weaponry, how the hell could we've used it?'_

There was indeed a high probability of Helghast involvement, thought this man. He had seen them temper with Petrusite before, attempting to refine it for weapons technology. However, those were failed attempts. There was even rumours of mixing Petrusite with live Plutonium, irradiating it at a nuclear level, to enhance firepower, but what he saw couldn't just be enough to do it in such a planetary scale.

But he didn't exclude ISA involvement, with some sort of new weapon, because they weren't all-good either: They too had their own skeletons in the closet. It sounded like those Earth history books, where the USA developed the atomic bomb in secret just to unleash it on the Japanese and conclude World War II with a demonstration of force. It seemed the ISA wanted to prove the almighty Helghast they were no mere joke either.

And if that was indeed ISA work, the question was: _What for?_

Not to mention alot happened on that same planet for the past six months. A huge rumor conflict, concerning the _'death'_ of Scolar Visari. The news would've been given if that happenned, but the ISA _'intelligence'_ reports still claimed Visari was alive and transmitting to his henchmen from an underground bunker in Pyhrrus. Perhaps it did happen and the ISA found it prudent to cover it up, make a suspense for a while.

What of the giant military mech the Helghast unleashed, called the MAWLR? ISA denied it, calling it a 'clever CGI graphic propaganda made by the Helghast'. UCN military experts denied it, proving _'machines of that magnetude would need to consume metal from an entire space fleet.'_. But still, a platoon of soldiers and leaked Spy Satellite camera photos proved otherwise. They've seen a giant four-legged machine wandering over Pyhrrus. A giant four-legged machine laying waste to entire ISA ground divisions, using some new sort of _'energy weapon'. _It ripped apart several ISA cruisers. Thousands of victims. And the bastards had the guts to deny it all.

For alot of people spread over and outside the Sol System, nothing made sense. It was an unbeatable Jigsaw, where the pieces just didn't link with one another. Giant mechs? Energy weapons? Raw Petrusite radically changing entire planets? No ordinary human could make a connection to this already insane war.

Unless...

"Him..."

But the man watching the news was no ordinary human. He had the same pale-skin color the Helghast have. He was bald, like the Helghast. But he was no Helghast. At least, not fully: His father was a human. But still he had a part of Helghast heritage in his anatomy. This man had already served with the Helghast before standing with the ISA. This man had seen promises but never such results. But now, now that Helghan has changed, that could only mean one thing...

"The bastard did it...", muttered the man. Now it could make sense. Everything could make sense. It was **him!** Either he did it under the Autarch's nose, with his approval or he did really 'retire' him and seized the throne! But only he could be responsible for all this...

"Stahl, that son of a bitch!", exclaimed the half human, half Helghast, getting on his feet and heading to his room. Inside a small closet, he moved away the wooden chest, filled with other unnecessary stuff, he just kept as something to block the real thing: A personal electronic vault. He pressed the number series on the keypad, unlocking the vault, opened it and picked up some series of paper files inside.

However, instead of words, these papers were just written with some weird, but futuristic dialect. A dialect he understood. Helghast language. A product of the Autarch's attempt of making Helghast separate from the Human species. Still, a half-successful attempt, for the Helghast managed to write and read their own language, but the only thing still connecting them to humans was that they still spoke Human English.

The man searched the papers for a specific file, one he recognized after laying aside three other files. He opened it and began to read what was written:

**STAHL ARMS INC.**  
**PROJECT _HEPHAESTUS_ - CLASSIFIED WRITTEN BY: STAHL, JORHAN B.**

**INTRODUCTION:**

_Zeus, God of Gods in Olympus, in Earth's mythology, ruled with an iron fist, because of his power: Lightning. Amongst the Greek Gods, there was no other powerful divine weapon. But such weapon was forged by the hands of a blacksmith: Hephaestus, whom people would call the son of Zeus. The Roman peoples would call him Vulcan, god of beneficial fire and metalworks. It was only because of the so called 'lame' God of craftsmanship that the Gods were graced with many powers, derived from items forged by him. Agamemnon's staff of office, Achilles' armor, Heracles' bronze clappers, all possible thanks to Hephaestus._

_Humanity, at the time, could indeed be considered inferior to the Gods due to their primitive weaponry at the time: Simple metal swords and shields, lances, bows and arrows. But Man came to evolve his means to wage war: Gunpowder, machine guns, Nuclear ordinance, Titanium, space technology. Man, in terms of war equipment, come close to craftsmanship of God Hephaestus at every turn, at every step. But the next step shall be taken, not by Humanity, but it's superior descendancy, it's greatly powerful lineage. By Helghast-kind._

_With the passing of time, with the progression of war, better weapons and better armor come up. But armor made to hold bullets spilled by guns. For what shall be introduced here is not only a new weapon against the so hated peoples of Earth, who made our people face the most terrible hardships, but also an entire new energy source altogether, beneficial for both civilian and military use and one which will allow the development of more complex systems and war machines._

_Petrusite is not an all-new energy source. Both the Empire and the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance utilize it as a power source for urban areas and space cruiser technology, but no appliances were made for military means. However, thanks to our fine scientists, Petrusite development also allowed for weapons development. Not only this, but hand-made irradiation of the material with Plutonium gave additional results, although additional research is required for solid appliance in weapons technology. First results, however, are promising._

_Stahl Arms Incorporated has always been involved with the supplying of weapons for the Empire and the Helghast people. But innovation is the water that moves the wheels of evolution, and, through Petrusite, raw and irradiated types, Helghast-kind will take a leap foward. Through evidence showed in this report, so much in images and statistics as well as live reports of a fully-functional prototype, it will be proved the application of this material's use in weapons technology, capable of powering huge-scaled war machines, energy-based weapons and, in a possible future, compact space craft and energy-based defense systems. Through evidence showed in this report, it will be proved that Helghast-kind, not Humanity, thanks to Petrusite, will become Hephaestus himself, capable of not only forging the so-dreamed lightning of Zeus, but also using it, for the survival and supremacy of the Helghast people, and, ultimately, the accomplishment of the Helghast Dream._

_Jorhan Brimve __Stahl_

_Stahl Arms' CEO_

The man proceeded reading the remainder of the file, showing several things like Helghast in advanced suits, probably anti-radioactive, so much soldiers as scientists, messing with vials of sickening-looking green materials. That surely had to be the irradiated Petrusite he so heard about, but couldn't believe it. The energy production statistics were somewhat double the scale of what raw, non-irradiated Petrusite could generate. Could be a fake, it could not. Who knew? The chemical and elemental components were somewhat alien according to the chemical period table. That was something that worried him. Petrusite, which could only be found on the enemy's turf, Helghan, was definitely not explored entirely, opening a whole new set of possibilities. Possibilities as beneficial as gravely damaging to the ISA.

It was then when the Half-Helghast saw the strange weapon on the racket. Could be a false stand-out model, but he didn't buy it: Helghast aren't prone to make stand-out models, they go _straight_ for gun prototypes. Another picture showed a Helghast trooper firing what seemed to be the gun, producing a white-like beam on a human subject. The following photo showed the victim dying through lacerations, doubtless caused by the weapon. Contrary to what mankind would believe, they had control over lightning guns. And lightning guns could be the base for... energy-based weaponry!

_'Stahl wasn't mad after all, he knew exactly what he was doing!'_, though the man. _'Who can tell if that bastard didn't use the whole Helghan as a guinea pig? Who knows what he'll use and on what next?'_

The man immediately stopped reading and went on to put some proper clothing. He was going to leave. He had to. A lot of things, a coordinated scheme was brewing up his head. Number one, waking up his former boss and colleagues in ISA Intelligence and informing them about that Petrusite. Number two, work his way back to the ISA Council and High Command, from where he retired, preferably a position within the Interplanetary HAZMAT unit. Finally, should anyone return, inquire on what happened on the maximum gathering of details as possible.

Because, against all odds, the war changed. The standards became another at a whole new level. Things he never thought would happen were on move as he even changed his clothes. Some social outfit covered with a coat for the cold outside. He knew of it, but he wasn't sure he should inform. Should he and those weapons not be found, he'd be declared insane after all the noising. And should the weapons truly exist, the cowards in the ISA Council would start negotiations, just like England and Chamberlain did with the Nazis, afraid of their power. The only way to deal with that kind of people was through arms.

And now that the war was on and the weapons did truly exist, it was time for him to tell it all and face the consequences.

It was time for Gregor Hakha, former military servant of Helghan and former ISA intelligence agent, to act.

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, LENTE AV. - MAY 24TH, 2360**

Even before the cataclysm that covered all of Helghan in such a horrendous atmosphere, Constantine City was a great metropolis and a profitable industrial center, so much for civilian as for military means. It had a booming economy which increased city growth and prosperity. Roads and railroads connected it to other cities and provinces on the planet, tall buildings and skyscrapers could be found at every turn on the city, the roads always filled with movement during daylight. However, compared to Pyhrrus, Helghan's planetary capital, it was like New York compared to Washington D.C on Earth. It was economically powerful. It was the largest city on Helghan. But it wasn't the heart of the Helghast Empire.

After the Petrusite was unleashed, however, it felt all different, and the city started to decay. Decay in progressive poverty, lack of energy, fearful military presence and grief. For Constantine City, after the cataclysm, was saved by some sort of shielding bubble, it's buildings still standing, it's population alive and breathing. But energy began to fail in several blocks, needing rerouting all the time. The refugees evacuated from Pyhrrus prior to the ISA invasion have consumed the majority of food resources which'd be suited only for the population of Constantine City alone. And there was no more sun in the city neither in any of Helghan, any lightning could be found inside the shield, transmitting a dim silvery one, like if it was clouded day dusk. Still, it was weak, requiring usage of lanterns and lens flares, which only used more energy from the city.

Worse still was the fact martial law was declared by the city mayor a few days. And, with martial law, usually came night curfew, which meant no one should be in the streets. Unless there was some good reason to, and good reason, for people with a strong sense of authority like the Helghast, meant a really good reason. Perhaps the bald, pale-skin colored and skinny Helghast woman walking down the lane should have found one, but she kept on her hasty steps, hoping she wouldn't find any soldiers. Or anyone who could be an _undercover_ soldier.

The motive was because she didn't a reason, but to meet with people others wouldn't like her to. Raltha Olan, 27 years old, worker of the library and archives in Constantine City, was thought to be a mere woman who simply shouldn't be walking around outside on that hour, but that she wasn't. She was classified as a suspect by the local Helghast government, the remainder that still formed the Empire and it's imposing Triad symbol. She knew where she was going, and it was closer, she had gone too far to stop walking.

However, she wasn't alone on the street. A Helghast male kept on walking the opposite way she walked, wearing a sort of a trench coat for the cold. Her worries raised, he could be one of the undercover soldiers, doing patrol and using civilian coats to catch the smarter people who knew how to break curfew. People like her. The more he approached her, the more she felt nervous inside, but she kept a standard outside looking.

The man simply passed. Nothing happened. No boarding procedure, no arrest voice, nothing. But Raltha kept on walking, no looking behind, and she quickly came to turn right in a set of stairs, flashed out in green lightning, in a way the man wouldn't notice should he turn around to spy on her.

The only thing about it was... the man was nothing she thought he was. He was a simple man, nothing more. _A butler._

Raltha wasted no time after quickly coming down the stairs, which lead to the abandoned subway system. Ever since the city's power grid started to fail because of that disaster, the subway was one of the first systems to be shut down by the mayor, in order to avoid a full blackout and generate widespread urban chaos.

A curious thing for the Helghast's subway system, for human eyes, was the manner the subway tracks were built. It all seemed like a modern-age Earth subway, except for two things. One was the Helghast language written on walls, signs and whatnot. The other were the tracks. Normally, subway and railroad trains were supposed to have a wide ground track, but it could only applied to the former concerning the Helghast. Helghast subway tracks were triangular shaped, three thin steel tracking with power conduits, one used as the road for the train's wheels, positioned like they were forming a sorts of triangle edges. In the end, it proved to be effective, as the thin supports used only for the lower 'edge' and, sometimes, for the other two, meant an economy in materials and funding.

Raltha walked to the right far end of the station, where then she approached a simple steel door of sorts, locked and with the famous sign _'Under repair, free entry prohibited.'_, written in Helghan alphabet. She knew the door, however, was a cover up and wasn't locked. She opened it, revealing the most dirty corridor ever, with some work damage and water leaking to disguise it and another three doors on the opposite end. She simply marched to the end, straight towards the middle door, only to knock it three times, with three knocks each time and a small pause. It was the code of entry.

By finishing her code-knocking, she heard noises of something heavy being moved and shortly after the door itself opened, revealing a somewhat fully dark, empty room. She simply entered there and waited for that light to come up, revealing miraculously the path further ahead.

"Hold still!"

But she instead heard a grave, male-like sound. She quickly came up nervous, how the hell they came to know about this place? She made sure to go quickly in order to lose the tail that man above could be! But she didn't say anything, any move could provoke the male soldier into provoking her.

"Hands on the head, touch the back.", said the voice.

She followed suit, still nervous.

"Now... Be gentle and say hi, please.", said the male voice, but no longer authoritary.

"What?", said Raltha, coming to suspect immediately: _Helghast soldiers aren't gentle! They don't even say 'hi', even less a 'please'!_

The soldier began to laugh immediately, cracking so hard. No one would understand what the hell was going on, but Raltha did: She had just been fooled. A brief click was heard and the laughing tone no longer contained the grave, male sound but... a female one, smoothed only by a transmission-like hiss and a metallic flange.

"Seriously, Raltha, you get nervous too damn easy...", said the female sound.

"Strana...", said Raltha, this time with a sarcastic voice, not liking the practical joke pulled on her. Not one bit. "I see our fellow thinkers finally concluded the Vocal Altering Device."

"Somewhat.", scoffed 'Strana', finding the subject a funny one. "They planned to show the updated version to the Joint tomorrow, but I pulled a favour or two to make the scene. Sure as hell it had it's uses.", finished the subject bursting in a brief laughter.

"Well, it convinced... _but it wasn't funny!_", said an angry Raltha. "I almost got followed in here, some... man in a trench coat, thought he could be some undercover trooper!"

"Well... We better watch who walks in coats, then.", said Strana, closing the door behind Raltha. "Worry not, the surveillance team wanted to inform that man simply walked by and stopped by some food store at Toula Pass.", she finished the line by activating the lights, not only to the path foward, but also of the current area. She then pressed another button, which made the giant metal box close to the door move towards it, through two visible depressed rails, to block it. It was a clever thing to do since, should any snoopers go around, they'd only find a supply room with cleaning items.

The figure turned away from the panel to reveal some other type of Helghast trooper carrying a battle rifle, which was Strana, but she wasn't. She had a type of outdated military outfit with some metal plates covering her body, her belt showing two pistols and a set of grenades. Her back revealed some sort of cape, sounding like a sort of cheesy comic book villain, the only thing over it being the backpack. The legs contained standard boots, fitting with the foot size, but the pants themselves were relaxed male type ones, in which she 'tightened' to fit her slender feminine frame.

But, most important than anything, was her helmet. Unlike the standard Helghast Base Trooper, which had a standard modern helmet, angry-looking googles with the famed, twisted red-yellow glow and the respirator mask with a visible tube outside, Strana's helmet was entirely original: A helmet which seemed to be improvised from an Earthly snowboarding helmet. Googles with vision centered on raised, perfectly circular cartoonish googles on each eye lens, which transmitted too that red-yellow glow. The mouth piece however, was simply pure armor, similar to a lower part in a Feudal Age knight's helmet. Despite claims that it didn't have a respirator, a paramount piece of every Helghast helmet issue, there was a slight detail: The mouth piece had it's side edges slightly exaggerated in size, so much that behind layed the real sockets to the respirator piece, three in each side, connecting to tubes which would form a relaxed but straight line to the air tanks on the backpack. In that way, this helmet had a significant advantage of having it's wearer more protected on the face while providing standard air. That was because Helghast trooper masks had the inconvenience of having their only air tube severed by a bullet of a competent marksman and no solution was found nor interested in being found ever since.

That was the appearance, not only of Strana, but of every female trooper. But they weren't official soldiers of the Helghast nation. They were Amazons. Only the renegade female elite of the elite were allowed to wear something like that. Well trained, so much in ranged as in close combat and martial arts, to preserve the interests of the renegade female activist movement. A movement Raltha was part of. And, for this, she was far worse than any other type of criminal amongst the Helghast.

Eventually, along with the original colonization of Helghan, also came the terrible and antiquated chauvinist, male supremacist traditions from the ancient times of Earth humanity. It even came to be worse in the end of the First Extrasolar War, when the number of Helghast females were twice lesser than that of males. Ever since then, all governments, from the renegade clusters of the Pre-Empire time to the peak of the Helghast civilzation, have come to prioritize female survival and the continuation of their role as 'breeders', eventually relegating the Helghast women to simple-minded tasks of breeding, tailoring, domestic duties and children school-ship, and keeping them away from military or heavy-duty occupations, such as construction, metallurgy or transportation. Eventually, opportunistic male Helghast also took this opportunity to keep females away from politics as well.

Of course, there were those ladies, who thought of a different and somewhat better future, who didn't accept that tradition. Females like Raltha Olan. Therefore, a small group formed the movement and it's command core, the Joint, for the mission of re-integrating the female gender into the positions they were 'cast out' from. At the beginning, it truly was a peaceful movement, but the violent reactions of the Helghast males in political and military circles awakened them to the reality that they'd need to literally fight for their future. And that was how trained warriors were integrated into the movement. Warriors like Strana.

"Come, they are already reunited.", said Strana, gesturing Raltha to follow.

Both went down the stairs, passing a heavily armored door, in which two other Amazons stood guard, opening it. The path revealed a catwalk headed straight to the following door, with a stair leading below, to a staging and arming area for other Amazons. Raltha and Strana passed through the catwalk to the other door, while Raltha witnessed the dedication of those females preparing themselves, a true meaning of revolution. The next door had side catwalks leading to two side doors and the foward path headed down to the sparse assembly area, where there weren't just Amazons loading guns, but also heavy cargo being transported and military-grade vehicles, including some which the traditional Helghast military had never seen. A female, mature and calm voice echoed through out the wide room, from speakers on the roof.

_"...strength, courage, most of it were what made up the bases of this revolution, but also were what formed the once great Helghast Empire. You, sisters, daughters, mothers, also bear the terrible weight of these values, more than even men themselves would do. And still, even in these darkest times, you still do. For you know that the time for change is imminent. In human childish and fantasy books, it is told that, despite all adversities, despite all the odds, it all ends well, the hero applauded, the nation prevailing and the enemy crumbling. An illusion. But one which gives those who understand it the will to fight. And perhaps the greatest gift both humanity and Helghast-kind have recieved. And something we all should embrace. Only by believing in the impossible, standing together besides all seeds of treachery thrown at us and remembering what we fight for, can we prevail in this revolution. Not only this, but another victory, the survival of the Helghast Dream. The survival and supremacy of our people."_

Raltha and her 'bodyguard' went down the stairs continued their march to the far lower left corner of the assembly area. Where a simple door also awaited. Past the door was a sorts of surveillance and communications room, improvised from the wide corridor, having one last door. That door led to the prime Joint chamber. Strana stood by the door while Raltha alone walked through it. Strana knew better that the only Amazons allowed inside were those assigned to it.

The prime Joint chamber, in the past, was only an empty wide central intersection room, with three doors allowing access to the additional areas of that underground base and a viewing window, similar to science fiction movies, that allowed a glance into the wide area that was a training point for Amazons. But, eventually, with the passing of time, and patience was a virtue for the female activist movement, the empty room became a respectable discussion chamber, filled, at the current time, with a straight classic table and fine-made chairs, background issues like red banners with white and black stripes on the corners, and a statue representation of planet Helghan, with the 'seas' being fluorescent light glass and the ground an obsidian black. On the way opposite to the planet statue was another statue, this time with a somewhat large piece of the Helghast Triad, which made an ironic sense that the activists weren't planning to throw down the nation at all, but the revolution was serving the Empire, instead.

On the chamber room there were only four Amazons covering the overall area of the room, as well as other five civilian-looking women. Only one of them was bald, like Raltha, but she had a more matured appearance. The others had a variation of ages and hair styles, two of them having long brown hair and one a white-colored one, but she wasn't any older. But the final one, with a styled black hair and what appeared to be a standard dress wasn't among the other Jointees, she was simply looking at the huge net-like window, and something was know she wasn't going to simply turn.

"You are late, Raltha.", said one of the browned hair woman. "We were about to start without you."

"Have had a hard time trying to evade the soldiers. Curfew only got worse with that food riot earlier.", explained Raltha.

"We heard of it.", said the same browned hair woman. "And things will only be worse with that coward bastard still on charge."

"And if things will be worse...", started the white haired woman. "The people will cry out, we may have a reason and support to launch the assault."

"The timing may not be enough, Sulja.", said the bald mature woman. "The energy problems are also beginning to worse, and may affect whatever may be protecting us from the cataclysm outside."

"Please, Livia, you have _always_ been favorable to an assault since the invasion began.", said Sulja.

"A perfect chance to take the city, were not for your _excess of patience!_", complained Livia.

"Easy, both of you!", exclaimed Raltha, seeking to end the discussion before it heated. She then turned to the two browned hair woman. "Karen, Thirsha, how long before that shield can drop, given the rising of the problem?"

"We are still to find the machine responsible for that shield, but the energy weakening is serious. The shield can drop in weeks, perhaps even less.", explained Karen.

"Define even less, please.", asked Raltha.

The second Helghast browned hair woman, Thirsha, hesitated. "_Days._ It is all I can say.", she said.

"All the more reason to start a fight now.", claimed Livia. "If not now, for how long? What if the shield drops?"

"We will be fighting military units, armed not only with rifles, but heavy vehicles and ordinance, Livia.", said Sulja. "And I mean tanks, jet-bikes, grenade launchers, missiles, electric guns, machine guns, sniper rifles and flamethrowers. This is not something you can simply charge on, screaming woes of glory and beating anyone in your way, we need time to _plan_, to evaluate the changes since that riot."

"How long can you estimate for everything to be ready?", asked Raltha.

Sulja considered on that question. "Three days, more or less.", she answered.

"The assault can be too _premature,_ Sulja, you know it.", replied Raltha. She then looked to Livia. "As you do know too, Livia."

"But can also be our best chance."

All eyes immediately gazed on the maker of that answer, which was the black haired female still gazing on the window. "Patience is one of the virtues we learned to develop, but too much patience can be costly for us. I am afraid the time to move on has come. It is time we launch the campaign.", she said.

A brief moment of silence went on the room. After that, it was broken.

"It is better we do the voting, then.", said Thirsha. "Karen, what do you say?"

"It is premature to make that decision, but I am not against it.", answered Karen.

"I say the time has long passed to make that calling.", commented Livia. "I agree."

"As do I, but by a matter of majority. What of you, Raltha?", asked Sulja.

Raltha considered on that question and needed to say something.

"Ladies, perhaps I may not have so much power in the Joint as you do, and especially our dearest friend. But I know I have been waiting for the right time, the time when an option like this should be considered. Yes, we are in a crisis. Outside this shield bubble there are violent storms and virulent air and who knows what else. As inside we have a chance of saving what remained of the great legacy our great father and Autarch left behind. Yes, we will need to kill those we once loved, those we met, to take the reigns. But the only thing ask of you is: _Are you prepared?_ Because, once this step is given, there shall be no return. We either die altogether or we go to the end. Not to say I'm against the order to strike, I do agree too, but... consider a chance to protest now before you decide to do it a bit too late.", she claimed.

The remainder of the Joint saw some reason on Raltha. War was indeed something too serious, for it was not only a matter of preparation, numbers or how well equipped a faction could be to win. It also said something about the courage to do what needed to be done, to go to all the needed lengths to finish it. And war, too, had no place for second position or a second round. One falls and other stands. Simple as that. But no one spoke in that moment of silence. In the end, Sulja broke the silence.

"Let our friend decide.", she said. She referred to the black haired woman.

Only one decision was made. Made by that woman watching on the window. The woman who considered on that decision for far too long, way before that meeting too. The years she spent learning, the years she prepared herself for all challenges, from during to the end of the revolution, would at last be put to evaluation.

She simply turned around to face the Joint members on the table and spoke.

"Begin the campaign."

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, TOULA PASS - MAY 24TH, 2360**

**SEVAT FOOD & SUPPLIES**

The end of the day was somewhat agitated for Makro Golan, the butler which also took a risk in breaking martial law going to that store in that hour. It was about to close and the military began to round up the civilians to return to their homes. Were not for the fact the food supplies were running out for the next day, he wouldn't _need_ to come at that hour, he could leave it for tomorrow, when curfew was off and the military allowed the people of Constantine City to do their duties.

The problem was, he was a butler and the elite was known for not being so keen when things weren't done in the right time. He could say the same of his employer. Fortunately, his employer wasn't any cruel, but he couldn't afford any risk. Not to mention he was ordered to buy the minimum possible in every visit to the store, under some claims the employer would not want backfire from general population from affording too much food, something which was becoming more scarce at every day.

_'She must be clearly out of her mind!'_, thought Makro. _'She is already thinner than myself and she wants to do a generous act. The people can afford food, why don't they do it?'_

Trying to leave such thoughts behind, he placed what he was ordered to pick up on the register box: A pack of rice, a pack of sugar, some salt, Helghan Spider pieces, refrigerated Hel-Beast meat and some fruit. All in small quantities.

"Fifty Helghanii and some Changes, sir.", said the male storekeeper, all in a serious and deadpan manner. "And you better move, the soldiers will suspect if I don't close the store soon."

Makro simply looked on his pocket to pick the money, comprised of some bronze coins and white bills, the mentioned Changes and Helghanii, and began to count it. As obvoius with every government system, even dictatorships, monetary systems were all similar to those used in Great Britain and the United States.

"Here.", said Makro, delivering the money to the storekeeper. He then proceeded to pack himself the food supplies.

No _'thank you'_ or _'have a nice day'_ were said, Makro simply walked out the door with the bought goods and the storekeeper didn't even bother to look behind. Simple as that. But it was better that way.

Makro, like some bald lady he met earlier ago during his trip to the store, took no time in hastening himself the way back to where he came from, hoping there wasn't any military patrols roaming that area. Fortunately, there wasn't any of it, but it was no time to relax. Even close to his place of work and his house he kept on marching.

The Sixth Pantheonic state, a closed area for the wealthiest members of Helghan, didn't use to have security before martial law. On the gate there was only two armed security guards utilizing light weaponry, like the famed StA-18 Tropov pistol, utilized by the majority of the Helghast military. Now it was all about some gun emplacements and a light Armored Personnel Carrier with a machine gun as a turret. Fortunately, they called several people stationed there to attend to the food riot happening earlier that afternoon, so there was only the two guards familiar with the wealthy residential block. They immediately saw Makro and opened the gate.

"You are one lucky bastard, Makro! The force is still to clean the mess of the riot.", claimed one of the guards.

"You tell me. Not to mention a patrol passed on earlier, we were betting how much time it'd take for you to be caught!", said the second guard, letting a brief chuckle on the matter.

Makro simply didn't say anything, he needed to keep going to inside the closed states.

"Well, good night for you too, Makro.", said the same second guard, shortly after Makro went through, closing the automatic gates sealing the block from the rest of the city.

The houses of the elite families in the Sixth Pantheonic were always wide and titanic like, imposing their sheer size, so much of the residence buildings as of their lush artificial gardens over a wide space which would be more fit for several residences and additional commercial buildings instead of the lower sprawls and slums where the lower layers of Helghast society are forced to live in. The houses were naturally futuristic like, but also retained some classic human designs, mostly Greek-Roman styled. The Helghast gardens, unlike human ones, didn't have any flowers, only grass and pathways filled the seemingly empty ground. There were, of course, some fountains and statues decorating the emptiness of the garden, but that was it.

Makro took a long walk towards the multiple residences each gate carrying the Helghast Triad and a side sign on the wall with a name: _'Cobar', 'Lente', 'Metrac', 'Radec'..._ There was a time when he finally reached such a house and pressed the button on the gate's calling panel.

"Makro.", he said and waited a little. The gates then opened, and he walked inside the gardens, heading straight for the house.

A house which had a side sign saying _'Visari'_ on it.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY**  
**PLANET VEKTA, HIGH ORBIT**

The overall view of Vekta, from space, seemed alot like Earth. But it wasn't. It was far greener and healthy than the cradle of Man, it's resources being used only now, by a race which seemed to colonize it just in time.

For Rico, Sev, Jammer, Hooper and their partners strapped in the stolen Helghast space gunships, it was like coming back home. Hell, Vekta _was_ their home at all!

_"Attention un-identified space craft, this is Vektan Space Command, please identify yourselves."_, came a voice on the radio of all space craft.

It was going to be as simple as that. Sev simply picked the radio and tuned in to all frequencies before the SpaceCom could hear:

"Control, this is Vektan Expedition Raider 1, coming straight from Helghan on some new toys. Permission to land, preferentially not under fire.", said Sev.

_"What the... Sevchenko? Tommy, you ass, you give no calls and then you show up in some small tin can?"_, said the voice behind the Space Command radio.

Sev sounded surprised. He knew that voice and that manner of saying.

"I don't believe it, you made it, Irons?", Sev asked. "You finally working in orbit?"

_"Just finished the exams about last month."_, said Irons. _"What of you, Sevvy Boy, the hell happened you stayed in the dark for six months?"_

"Hey, Sev, maybe you can chat later, when we land? Can't wait to walk again, heck, might not even remember after getting sit all this time.", interrupted Rico.

_"Yeah, yeah, alright, mister 'Who Ever You Are', might arrange some clear land in Rayhoven for you to land."_, returned Irons.

"It's Velasquez, thank you very much.", Rico said.

"_Irons, nice to meet you, sweety. Okay, you'll land on Rayhoven Air Base, some Intruders will lend space for you."_, replied Irons. _"Just one warning before you land, boys, you got orders to stand down, some top-brass want to talk to you as soon as you touch. SpaceCom out."_

That last line didn't go good, especially for Rico.

"Top brass?", asked Rico.

"Might be anything, Rico. Anyways, you stick to the plan. Just bring us down.", replied Sev. Rico followed, heading his ship and leading his colleagues to orbit.

Entering a planet wasn't always easy, just for the space cruisers. A lighter vehicle would need to enter slowly making some infinite circles to compensate for the atmosphere burning and turbulence, until the course could finally be adjusted for the landing destination. Everyone in their gunships, including Rico and Sev, tucked in for that part.

However, surprisingly, not much of those events happened to the gunships, leaving the people inside. Should've been some new kind of plating the Helghast were tempering with. But, for all events, they managed to slowly enter Vektan atmosphere. And when they were finally over the skies of the planet, all of them remembered how beautiful were those skies before leaving for that hell the ISA called a planet. Volumous, but humble clouds filled the beauty of the blue sky. Not only this, it was conforting to feel that sun once more.

The descent continued until there could be a view of the ground below. The surface itself was a rather temperate green, surrounded by fields and occasional jungles, rivers and man-made roads cutting it apart. Afar, was some sort of large concrete slab, with some visible buildings, doubtless military styled, with more concrete areas nearby. That was Rayhoven Air Base.

* * *

On a closer view, closer to land, were people running for about all sides, while a crowd of eyes caught sight of those new, stranger ships landing on their ground. They came from deep space but seemed to behave like ISA Intruder Infantry Dropships. Their design was clearly Helghast, but why those people weren't allowed to fire on them, only God could tell.

Then, the craft landed and began to shut it's engines off.

After that the hatches opened, showing the people inside. Soldiers. Wearing ISA color.

There was silence at that hour. Then some mumbling.

"I don't believe..."

"That's _our_ guys..."

**"THE HELGHAN INVADERS! THEY'RE ALIVE!"**

A sudden burst of cheers echoed through out the whole Rayhoven. People from all corners of the base have swarmed in to greet the returning war heroes and glance at the new piece of machinery landed on the base. One of the people asked repeatedly to open way for them. His brass on his uniform denoted him as a Major.

"All right, people, what the fuck is going on-", inquired Major Knight before beholding the space gunships. Immediately, his jaw dropped, and came slowly closer to Rico and Sev. "Name and Rank."

"Sevchenko, Sergeant.", replied Sev.

"Velasquez, Master Sergeant", Rico followed.

The Major had little to say on that sight of a ship. He then turned on to his own men.

"You've had enough looking at them? Get'em inside, now!", he shouted. The soldiers immediately dispersed and went on to figuring out a way of securing them straight to the Hangars. Knight then turned to the soldiers off the gunships. "Nice stuff you brought in. Think I can arrange some room for you, fellas. Only thing I can't allow is you leaving my base without permission, some orders from top brass. What's it gonna be?"

Rico and Sev simply exchanged looks.

"Are meal and shower on the package too?", asked Rico.

The Major didn't say much. He smirked too.

* * *

Obviously, some hours passed on before they did a lot of things, all in a strict order. Medical examination. Inquire on those ships and how they got them. Shower time. Change of clothes. Some decent meal. Some sleep.

And then something, on the next morning, when Velasquez and Rico were on the yards of the Air base, beholding the ISA Intruder ships. And it came in form of an officer in well-dressed military uniform and some ISA soldiers behind him.

"Mister Velasquez, Mister Sevchenko? I'm sorry, but orders came in you are to be placed under arrest."

* * *

**NOTES:**  
- The original notes denoting clear statement for this story, like the AU warning and such, can be found in the prologue (Or chapter 1, whichever you like).  
- It took long for me to realize one of the characters, according to KZ3 history, didn't survive. But then it was too late, the damage is already done. Hopefully, there won't be much more.

* * *

Chapter 2 is almost ready, but will only be launched when Chapter 3 is near completion. Read, enjoy and comment.


	3. Chapter 2: Encounters and Returns

**THE BLACK ROSE**  
**AN ORIGINAL AND UN-OFFICIAL KILLZONE FAN-FICTION**

**CHAPTER II - ENCOUNTERS AND RETURNS  
****  
**

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, DISTRICT M-11 - MAY 25TH, 2360**  
**AURAN STRACHT'S APARTMENT**

Life in military service, even for higher ranks, was no easy one. The Helghast military were no exception. And Auran Stracht, Commander of the 1st Reserve of the main military force in Constantine City could easily testify on that. As his previous day was no easy one. He reflected on it while eating some old rice he cooked three days ago, on the table of his simpleton apartment room in one of the tall buildings in Constantine, in an area open to attack.

By simpleton, the apartment comprised of three rooms: The kitchen/room with it's simple wood table in the center, four chairs, the small white sink, a compact oven and a TV screen on the upper wall displaying the controlled media of the Helghast and some garbage bin which was many times empty or with so few garbage, given he passed most of his time in his local base of operations. The second was a presumably tight area called a _bathroom_, with only a toilet, a drawer for toothpaste and shaving equipment and the shower. The last room was the sleeping room, with the wardrobe and a side bed. Some would think it was uncommon or unfair, given a command rank in the Helghast military would deserve some _decent_ lifestyle, but he was a Helghast Commander: As the military was so underpaid, his salary could match the minimum wage of a simple Earth road worker. And he had to spend most of it in food and paying the apartment, therefore giving no room to some luxury.

His previous day was as common as every day without an incident, with the exception yesterday a protest crowd gathered on the City Hall to complain about the lack of food and the rise of it's prices on the city. However, what was once a peaceful movement started gathering violence, as they began to throw garbage over the Helghast soldiers. The military attempted to contain the riot through reasonable force, but that was until someone fired a pistol against an APC. Then, chaos erupted, as the soldiers had green light to fire their guns and use deadly force. The end of it did cost for the civilian population, for the remaining one million Helghast: Thirty dead civilians.

Worse yet, it was Auran's 1st Reserve who was containing the riot. Those thirty deaths were not only on his record, but on his conscience. His conscience that also hoarded not only the original Helghast Triad, but also a _second_ Triad, one his father taught. Eventually, the military officers training Auran and God knows how many other enlistees were always taught of the meaning of the three arrows pointing Northwest, Northeast and South. According to those training officers, those arrows always meant and always will mean:

_**Duty**, something Auran and all Helghast must perform, not only their obligations, but to dream of a great, free Helghan. No one was free or away from duty on Helghan. Not even the Autarch._

_**Obedience**, a thing Auran and all Helghast have due to the nation, the Autarch and to Helghan as a whole. Everything in Helghan. Everything for Helghan. Nothing against Helghan. Nothing outside the reach of Helghan._

_**Loyalty**, the eternal zeal and creed to the Autarch and to the State, which would reflect depending on the other two arrows, Duty and Obedience. Loyalty meant life in the Helghast. Even in death, there had to be loyalty._

For his deceased father, a miner, however, it meant a different thing. He made a second Triad to his son, one comprised of his personal values, something to which his son would share:

_**Strength**, which Auran needed to have to live on the toughest of times and pass through the most troubling of decisions. For strength wasn't in body muscles alone, but also in his mind and on his heart._

_**Courage**, which Auran would find the key to stand, not only against enemies, but friends as well. Even as loyalty was good, there had to be something to be done on people who'd abuse their power. For to have courage to do so was to truly serve Helghan as a whole._

_**Honor**, something that had to reflect on the Helghast Empire as on Auran himself. And such value, like loyalty, depended on other two values, which were Strength and Courage. For what good value there had to be within the Helghast if not honor, the true value Mankind forgot?_

However, his father always taught something else too: That the second Triad should be kept to himself and in his home. Outside of those two, the first Triad had to flash. He always said to his own son:

_'Auran, they always teach you Duty, Obedience, Loyalty to you and every other Helghast, but how Duty can be done if you don't have the Strength to pass through the worst of times, the toughest decisions? How good can Obedience be if you don't have the Courage to stand against an order so wrong, if you need to correct something that can go against yourself and all Helghan? For Loyalty may assure your life and career in this world, but it is your own Honor who'll salve your soul when you have to pass to the next one, when you die. But remember this always, son, this second Triad you must keep in home and in yourself. Outside, you continue to perform the Triad they teach you. The second, you keep it on head and heart. Remember that, you'll understand it all one day.'_

Still, despite all the passing of years, in which he gradually rose on the military ranks due to capability rather than political skill, he didn't fully understood what his father said. But such thing didn't stop him from becoming a rather diplomatic warrior, but still a remarkable one in terms of strategic warfare. Some, like the late Colonel Mael Radec, did criticize him for his lack of brutality, but curiously many enemies did know of his valour. After all, even a supposed-to-be tyrannical government has it's _decent_ Commanders.

Upon finishing his meal, he proceeded to pick on his clothing and head straight to the City Hall. The Mayor, he was told, needed to see him. The one and only mystery was: _What for?_

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, CITY HALL - MAY 25TH, 2360**

It only took six months for his job to become the gates of Hell. Then, like if it wasn't enough, it took a week to become even _worse._ It wasn't enough to feed the mouths of all those refugees evacuated from Pyhrrus (Which he couldn't complain about it, those were a direct command from the Autarch himself.), the Petrusite cataclysm came and envolved all of Helghan in a far hostile enviroment than what they were used to. Luckily, something emerged to protect Constantine City from the dangers of the first hours of violent reactions from the new atmosphere, but then several problems started, such as the gradual rise in energy failure and the increasing poverty. Protestors and riots began to gather in the streets, therefore he needed to establish Martial Law to keep things under control, but it seemed it wasn't going to be enough.

Life, for Rigel Skyler, Half-Helghast and Mayor of Constantine City, was _Hell incarnate._

But he didn't see it all from a scene of chaos. He was seeing that serene morning on the steps and foward entrance of the City Hall, besides one of the classic frontal columns, a huge plain white concrete area, with a thick dark gray line representing the pathway linking the stairs to the wall gate. The area, not just the pathway was filled with civilians and soldiers roaming the area. On each side of the pathway, stood two lines of banners displaying the red, white and black colors of the once glorious Helghast Empire, along with it's greatest symbol: _The Triad._

The Triad, he was always taught, was the symbol of glory. A symbol of faith. A symbol of strength. He learned to love the Triad with a devotion which would rival those of the Helghast military. It was because of that Triad that the Helghast were able to rise from nothing. It was because of it's servant, the Autarch, that the people of Helghan emerged from a ruined cluster of divided settlements into a military superpower. And all the Triad demanded was three things.

_Duty. Loyalty. Obedience._

The great values every subject of the Helghast Empire should nurture.

He remembered the former ISA propaganda claiming of freedom and righteousness, as the Autarch claimed, but he always knew better. There was no thing such as _freedom_ on Helghan. Freedom was a luxury, bought only with sweat and blood. In Helghan, if you wanted to be free, you had to fight. Because the ISA freedom was _parasitic,_ an excuse for a bunch of powermongers to ursurp control, suck the honorable man dry and offer him nothing in return.

_One Autarch. One Nation. One People. One Triad._ That was the perfect rule for the Helghast. The perfect reign.

Still, he wished the Triad could help him, make the revolting crowds understand the meaning of servitude and how lucky they were for being inside that shield bubble, instead of outside with the risks of violent storms and intoxication. Unfortunately, he had to contend with his soldiers, some watch towers and the small lines of H-30 'Hound' Light Battle Tanks behind the flag lines, entering and exiting the City Hall through sparse side gates in the rear part.

The 'Hound' LBT was a far old model of the Helghast military, dating from nine years before the invasion of Vekta, which still had treads and a modest firepower, represented by it's 95mm battle cannon and a compact mounted machine gun. It also held a considerable amount of armor, but still could afford some decent speed movement. Unfortunately, most were decommissioned due to the revolutionary appearance of hovertanks, machines with anti-gravity technology, fueled by Petrusite, allowing to travel in rough terrain and water, things not fit for the Hound. The only few ones left were stationed in some abandoned storage rooms in Pyhrrus and Constantine City. However, now that there were almost no hovertanks, thanks to both the ISA invasion and the cataclysm, these machines were put back into service by a few divisions of the Helghast military.

However, thanks to the actions of one man, that morning was a calm one. The lack of food protest that happened yesterday was no ordinary one. But that man, that bald, young-looking man with brown eyes managed to scare it away, executing those _ungrateful_ citizens and imposing order once again over the populace. Because of that man, people were walking on the straight line again, however _thinner_ it was becoming over time. The only curious thing was: Why did he wait the first shot? Nevertheless, he would be useful for a problem that was gathering, far more perilous than mere riots.

And now, he was waiting for him. _He had plans for him._

* * *

**PLANET VEKTA, SOUTHERN REGION, RAYHOVEN CITY - MAY 25TH, 2360  
RAYHOVEN AIR BASE - BRIG SECTION**

Life was somewhat unbelievable, especially if you are either one of the members who got involved in the invasion on Helghan. One hour _you are lauded as a hero,_ next to some weapon you stole from the enemy. The other hour, you're in some cold, barely illuminated cell block, the 'bars' being deadly blue cutting lasers, _being charged as a war criminal._ And, the same way you came in a space gunship, you were taken to the cell accordingly.

Sev was certainly expecting it, given what they've done. To him, it was a matter of time. He was standing up, counting the hours, trying to figure out the current time, as they arrested him without a watch.

But Rico wasn't. He never was ready for such things. He still lied sit in there, in the lower bunk, angry at the 'consideration' they gave him. He didn't bother looking to Sev, just lying on his feet, but he was sympathetic not to blame him, since he was with Sev all the way in it.

The others, however, were just sit in there, a bit desperate. Most of all, in terms of emotional breakdown, was Jerry Miller, sit on the dual bunks along with Shawn Natko, who was on his feet, on the verge of _crying,_ like a teenage girl. Natko himself was going to have enough of it.

"Oh, man, can someone _please_ call a guard, the wuss here needs some beat-up!", spoke Natko, annoyed.

"Easy, Natko.", spoke Sev, calmly.

"I'm serious, man, either this or everyone in this brig better tell Miller to shut it!", protested Natko.

"Let him, Natko, he's got reason for it.", spoke Jammer, on the cell facing Sev's with Hooper next to her. Jammer was a female figure in military gear, with a standard light-green shirt, but also wore a wide hood over her head, with a face denoting battle tatoos, blue eyes, soft mouth and a nice, long light brown hair.

"Hey, Sev, what do you think they'll charge us with?", asked Hooper along, the man who was in the same cell as Jammer's. He was tall, sounded like a do-good boy and had short hair.

"Besides the obvious, _Genocide?_", Sev said. "Well, if Narville didn't tell of Rico's move earlier, the one which he killed Visari, I could say insubordination, failure to comply on that order to stand down... Give or take, of course."

"_Give or take?_", asked Rico, upset, getting on his feet. "Man, you know those Hig fuckheads shouldn't have messed with that stuff we found on Pyhrrus in the first place!"

"It's Petrusite, Rico. Irradiated Petrusite.", explained Kowalski, a bearded, cap wearing person in one of the cells. "Yes, perhaps they had some fault in tempering with something so unknown and... volatile, but we shouldn't forget that we destroyed that cruiser with thousands of it inside."

By that time, everyone remembered that fight they almost forgot. The battle at the orbit of Helghan. The fight between the ISA and the Helghast for the sake of Earth and it's colonies. By exact terms, it wasn't exactly a _'good against evil'_ fight. That could be seen on the crossfire between the ISA, Jorhan Stahl's army and Helghast military forces loyal to the Empire. Still, the fact Earth was menaced by the same weapons that easily irradiated Helghan forced the brave ISA warriors to desperate measures.

That was because Sevchenko and Rico, before shortly leaving to orbit, accessed a database on the same location they rescued their former leader, Captain Narville. By then, they learned of Stahl's plan's to _irradiate_ the Earth and force all other human colonies into submission to the Helghast nation. Thus, the cruiser _had_ to be destroyed. It was terrible, of course, that Stahl decided to force the cruiser back to Helghan's surface moments before it's destruction. Destruction that Rico and Sev carried out on their own.

With the destruction of the cruiser, came the eventual irradiation of Helghan, the throwdown of a whole Empire... and the massacre of _millions_. Something they'd eventually face on the upcoming court-martial.

"I know.", Sev said. "But, Kowalski... Remember those situations where you kill the guy or he kills you, no next round?"

"Yes?", replied Kowalski.

"Believe me...", said Sev, looking to Rico. "That was one of those. Either Helghan or Earth, right?"

Rico simply looked at Sev with respect.

"Fuckin' straight, man.", he said.

Suddenly, some noise came up the far end of the Brig Section. Boots.

Three olive-green suited men, with their helmet and basic frontline battle armor, approached the corridor line. They were ISA soldiers on duty, two of them carrying standard M82 30mm Assault Rifle, both with a custom grenade launcher in it. The third soldier carried what seemed to be a futuristic electronic notepad.

"Maria Puentes!", called out loud the third Soldier. "You have visit."

The laser barriers in Jammer and Hooper's cell shut down. Then, Jammer herself left the cell, leaving Hooper behind and joining the three ISA soldiers to outside the Brig Section. As she and the soldiers passed through Sev and Rico's cell, Rico asked: "_Maria Puentes?_"

"No comment!", Jammer said as she looked at Rico with anger. Then, the foursome left the brig. Sev simply looked at the event, then at Rico.

"What, you didn't know her name?", he asked.

"And she didn't even bother to answer.", answered Rico. "Insisted we used her callsign. All the Raiders kept on betting on what was her name."

"Yeah, speaking on that, Rico, I've bet on 'Maria' or 'Helena', given she's bloody Hispanic. That's twenty you bloody owe me!", a voice came in from another cell, in the same wall Rico and Sev was. It was Devon Sykes, British Earth-born whose family changed from Earth to Vekta generations ago. By then, they've been serving the ISA military.

"Hey, you know those guards licked us up on the check-in!", replied Rico. It wasn't uncommon for some ISA soldiers making a living trying to gain a bit more they were used to. And cleaning up the prisoners from any cash they had was one such practice.

"Yeah, but when we get the hell out-", said Devon, before Sev interrupted him.

"**IF** we get out!", explained Sev. Devon waited a bit before continuing his sentence.

"_When_ we get the hell out, you get to paying me, mate! You might be Sarge, but _debt is religion,_ Rico!", finished Devon.

Suddenly, a voice came in from afar.

"Rico Velasquez and Thomas Sevchenko! Visit for you both!"

The laser barriers in Sev and Rico's cell are deactivated. They both left the cells, to wait the three other ISA soldiers to escort them to the visit room. As before, two soldiers carried their M82 and the third carried the same electronic notepad. Thus, the five people started heading away from the Brig Section, the cells and their mates to attend to the visiting person.

Passing through the door and through the corridors of the modest ISA Command Center in Rayhoven Air Base, Rico and Sev wondered to the fella could be. There was that certainty it'd be some pencil-neck chicken they'd need to call a _'lawyer'_. As there was a certainty it'd surely not be Narville, the bastard knew what he was doing when he broke off and left somewhere else instead to sticking to the group and face the same charges as Rico, Sev and everyone else. Other than that, they weren't sure. Obviously, really, guessing was such a pretty hard game.

Strangely, walking through the steps, Sev began to notice that was the wrong way to the visit room, which was filled with phone cabins like any standard correctional facility. He had been walking in ISA Command Centers most of his six years of military career, and they had all the same pattern.

"Wait a sec, guard, this ain't the way to VR. Where we're going?", asked him.

"If I were you, convict, I'd exercise my right to shut the fuck up!", replied a guard in a brutal manner. "You just keep moving!"

Suddenly, they stopped before a door on the left wall. One of the armed guards simply knocked and opened it.

"Inside.", ordered the guard. "No tricks, you both!"

Rico and Sev knew the procedure so closely, not to mention they didn't have anything but their bare, back-shackled hands as guns, that warning was unnecessary. They simply entered the dark, middle-sized room, and the guard closed the door.

The room seemed to be some sort of badly illuminated office, devoid of any camera or any other surveillance feature, with the fluorescent lamp emitting a sorts of weak glow, meaning it had to be changed ASAP. There was mostly empty room, but in the far end, from the point of view where Rico and Sev were, they could see a file cabinet, a white desk with some paperwork and a small lamp emitting a far stronger glow than that of the roof. There were also a small bin and a standard 21st Century office chair which would be normally placed to the desk, but was pulled off aside.

But there was also a man, wearing some sort of a coat, who had his back to Rico and Sev and was facing eyes to the desk's surface. The position from which he seemed to read some sort of file made any skin or hair identification not possible. His hands could give them a chance, were not for the fact the man was wearing black gloves.

"Guess you must be the attorney.", Sev inquired. "You're the one who's gonna defend us?"

"Yeah, but... What's with all the haunted house office fuck-up?", impled Rico, almost joking about that place. "Well, whatever pencil-neck, we don't need any advice on that judicial bullshit, guess we can handle on our own, right?"

"Somewhat.", said Sev.

"Rico... More than two years and you haven't changed. Not one bit.", replied that man, with some familiar voice. "I was just wondering you'd appreciate a visit from some old friend, some old... Uh, what was it? _'Bald fuck'_?"

A wave of suspicions came across Rico.

_'Come on, can't be him...'_, he thought.

That name was one he gave to only one person. And that person was before him, when he turned. A bald, pale-skinned humanoid with dark lower eye brows Rico fought with almost three years ago, on the same planet, when it was invaded. A Half-Helghast, Half-Human. Gregor Hakha.

But who broke the silence, aghast at the site was Sev, not Rico.

"What the fuck, it's a Hig!", he shouted.

"_Half_-Hig, actually.", Hakha replied, calmly. He was quite used to make that explanation to everyone who witnessed his appearance first hand.

"_Hakha_.", Rico said, with not-so-surprised look. "Long time, indeed."

"Huh?", said Sev, somewhat surprised. "You _know_ him?"

Rico simply let out a brief sigh. "Was a squad-mate, along with Jan.", he said. "Speaking of which, you heard about him?"

Hakha let out a brief sigh too, as well as a brief sad face. "Yes... Will actually miss the old bastard..."

The man both were talking about, Colonel and once Captain Jan Templar was the leader of a... different squadron, one that fought an entire Helghast invasion on Vekta, as well as traitors of the ISA itself. Templar also served to cool off the grudge between Rico and that Helghast. Unfortunately, on the two years of reprieve after the invasion force was defeated, much had changed. The team broke off, and now Templar was killed in the invasion of Helghan.

Sev himself never got to know Templar in person, only the ISA officer and war hero. But judging the fact the trio were in the same four man squadron, losing a partner, in the military, was like losing a brother. A brother for which they laid their hides on the line, as he did for them.

"And who is _he_, Rico?", asked Hakha, pointing at Sev.

"Sevchenko, Sergeant, First Class.", replied Sev.

"For the time being...", implied Hakha.

"What's that supposed to mean?", asked Sev, taking that phrase for an insult.

"Anyways, what you're doing in here? Thought they retired you.", inquired Rico, interrupting the starting-to-heat grudge.

"Actually, it was quite a _funny_ story.", spoke Hakha, slowly wakling towards Rico and Sev. "It was an ordinary day, like any other. I just finished reading another Shakespeare, as well as the meal, when I went to watch the night news. I expected to hear some update on the invasion of Helghan and the capitulation negotiations our government and council went with Admiral Orlock and the Helghast Senate, but instead I see something... _horrific. _I see a green globe, with it's atmosphere whirling in a chaotic, violent manner, and on the blue tag below, on those the news program put in to describe something, the text _'Planet Helghan suffers unexpected sudden atmospheric change'._ I thought myself _'It couldn't be Helghan, must be some other planet'_, until the news handed the coordinates which matched exactly with my former homeworld. Now I wonder... Did any of you, and I mean the whole invasion force, have something to do with it? I hope not... For your sake."

Sev and Rico simply exchanged looks before answering.

"If we say no, you take that as a lie?", asked Sev.

"I don't believe it...", said Hakha, still keeping the reaction natural.

Some time passed before what happened next.

Then everything changed. Hakha's expression changed from a natural one to one of pure fury, grabbing Rico by the throat and ramming him against the door.

"YOU BASTARD, SON OF A BITCH! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? **WERE YOU THINKING AT ALL, RICO?**"

Sev quickly rushed in to intervene, break that strangling and relieve his buddy.

"Hey, HEY! BREAK OFF!", he said, trying to reach them, but Hakha pulled him off.

"Don't you even dare, it's between him and me! DON'T!", shouted Hakha looking at Sev. He then turned his raging glance at Rico. "Ten billion, Rico. _Ten billion!_ Those were the numbers in Helghan! Not just soldiers, civilians too! Women, children, elder included! Are you satisfied now, huh? ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY ABOUT IT?"

Rico was being strangled so hard he almost couldn't breathe. He wanted to beat up at Hakha for that, but he could understand his rage. So he tried to explain.

"Wasn't like that, Hakha...", said Rico, almost unable to break out a phrase. "... not my fault..."

"**BULLSHIT!**", Hakha screamed, draggin Rico to the desk, lying him down and still strangling him. "Everyone knows you're the one who most hated the Helghast! Templar and Luger seen it! And I guess he just knows about it, now!", he finished the sentence looking at Sev. "I knew you were eager to kill me when we first met, but now **THIS?**"

"**THEN YOU TELL ME, WHAT THE FUCK DOES RICO'S HATRED GOT TO DO WITH WHAT STAHL DID?**", Sev screamed.

Hakha took a brief pause at hearing on that shout. He released Rico's throat. He then looked at Sev, incredulous on what he heard. Rico fell down the desk and layed down on the floor, coughing up and trying to recover from that homicidal attempt.

Suddenly, the door opened, the two soldiers carrying their rifles looking at the scene.

"_What the..._ Is everything okay, here, sir?", asked one of the soldiers.

Hakha delayed somewhat due to the answer Sev gave him. "Yes.", he replied, still aghast. "Yes, it was just an... unpleasant event. You can remain outside, nothing much will happen anymore."

"Are you sure sir?", insisted the other soldier.

"That's an order, trooper.", spoke Hakha.

The soldiers got that order and immediately closed the door.

"What did you say, Sevchenko?", asked Hakha, in a quieter voice now.

"We may have been responsible for what happened in Helghan, but that _green thing_ was Stahl's doing!", spoke Sev in a firm tone.

"Yeah...", said Rico, still on the recovery process. "That's what I was **fuckin'** trying to tell you!"

"But you said _'Stahl'_? THE Jorhan Brimve Stahl?", asked Hakha.

"His middle name's _'Brimve'_?", asked Rico, now curious and getting on his feet.

"What you know about him, Hakha?", asked Sev.

Hakha simply walked towards a side wall, near the file cabinet.

"Jorhan Stahl... He was... He was a real lion in Helghan's elite. He always took what he wanted, when he wanted, no mercy or regrets in the way. And also a real scumbag, several times he dared to interfere in affairs of the government itself. Not to mention several times he tried to usurp more power than he could have and even did things under Visari's nose.", he explained.

"'_Under_ Visari's nose?", asked Rico, scoffing at it. "If he did things like that, under the nose of a leader, it was expected Visari dumped him already."

"Well... Scolar actually had to tolerate his craving for power. He was the primary weapons maker in Helghan. But... Definitely, messing with the _'green thing'_ you spoke of would surely fit with his actions. Stahl was also involved in experimental technology, everything that would make him have an edge over Visari.", explained Hakha.

"Yeah, that'd sound like him.", commented Rico. "And weren't for we to stop him, it wouldn't be Helghan under those clouds, but Earth instead."

"_Earth?_", said Hakha, curious at it.

"That thing you saw was what Private Kowalski called _Irradiated Petrusite_. Stahl's been literally juicing up his guns with that thing lately.", said Sev.

"'Irradiated' as if by... _nuclear waste?_", asked Hakha.

"The same nukes the Higs stole from Rayhoven.", explained Rico. Only he seemed to remember the chase he and Templar gave against an ISA traitor, General Dwight Stratson, for delivering sealed nuclear arsenal to the Helghast. For Rico it was a personal thing, since Stratson tried to put all blame on Rico.

Eventually, it wasn't just one traitor the Helghast had on their hands. There was another, General Stuart Adams, who helped facilitate the invasion of Vekta, which could have been impeded were not for the fact the weapons of the Space Defense Platform, which was, by coincidence, under Adams' control, malfuctioned at the time of the invasion. However, he managed to restore them with the permission and followed murder of another member of ISA High Command, General Bradley Vaughton, thus giving devastating firepower to the Helghast. Fortunately, there was Templar and his men to stop Adams, eliminate his collaborators and put the Helghast invasion to a screeching halt.

Unfortunately, the nuclear weapons weren't recovered, but used on the devastation of Pyhrrus, capital of Helghan, to eliminate the largest amounts of the ISA incursion on the planet. And the devastation itself did the job of irradiating Petrusite, the fuel both ISA and the Helghast used. And, when the Autarch was killed, Stahl saw the potential opportunity at hand.

"Then it was Stahl, indeed. _That bastard..._", whispered Hakha. "Regardless, I am here to inform you that you're in serious trouble. You certainly heard about the upcoming Court Martial."

"Yeah, somewhat.", said Sev. "So, what are the charges?"

"Grave ones, Sevchenko.", said Hakha. "There are several parts wanting your blood, especially yours Rico. ISA Council, ISA High Command, ISA Diplomatic Corps, UCN, Earth and Vekta's Human Rights Commissions, Helghast Rights Associations, the media and God knows how many minor vouchers interested. They want you both for Genocide, Conspiracy to commit Genocide, Insubordination and Conduct Unbecoming."

Sev couldn't think of anything after Hakha spoke the last two words: Conduct Unbecoming. That charge, alone, meant a _Dishonorable Discharge_: Kick-off from the military, with no chance at a return and no money paid for service on the field.

"_Conduct Unbecoming?_ Is that serious?", asked Rico.

"I tried to convince them not to go so far, but they didn't listen.", answered Hakha. "They got no problems with you, Sevchenko, just with Rico here."

"How come that?", asked Rico, angry. "How come those ungrateful fuckers just want to dump it on me alone, man?"

"Well... The negotiations with the Helghast didn't come out quite as the ISA politicians planned... They screwed it up. Or... _you did._", Hakha explained.

"What do you mean _'I screwed it up'_, Hakha?", inquired Rico, taking Hakha's explanation as an insult.

"When the Vektan government capitulated and ordered every ISA soldier to lay down arms and surrender, you were supposed to do it, Rico!", explained Hakha, but he quickly resumed before some wrong reaction went off his hot-head friend. "At least, that's what THEY thought on it. The problem was that they spent the last seven months making a huge-scale political project to deal with the Helghast peacefully, and that was when military action failed. After they could negotiate peace with the Senate, they could also start trading agreements once again, including Petrusite, which they intended to research weapons technology too. But then, in _their_ eyes, you and the surviving ISA came in, restarted the war and defeated the Helghast. The irradiation couldn't be kept a secret from most satellites on Vekta. Because of you both, months of planning went down the drain and now it isn't even possible to trade with the species you, in _their_ thoughts, and Stahl both decimated. Now they're trying to do something about it, a late reaction."

"Like putting us both in the frying pan.", concluded Sev.

"Exactly.", Hakha followed. "Believe me: The soldiers and simpleton folks might have liked your actions, but the highly educated ones, politics, top brass, activists and diplomats didn't. _Not one bit._"

"That still didn't explain why it's me, above all of the group, who'll take major flak.", inquired Rico.

Hakha simply went on to the desk and picked some brown paste files, as well as some which were spread on the floor from the earlier strangling attempt.

"The problem, Rico, is that you have _several_ conduct issues with superior rank, and they're all filed.", said Hakha. "Doubtless, since you have behaviour issues, they want to get an already guilty person and work from there. If they discover anything or have access to classified files, it will be far more troubling to defend you."

"Troubling to defend...", asked Rico, suddenly stopping due to some suspect feeling. He simply looked at Hakha. "It's **_you_** who'll be the lawyer?"

Hakha didn't say anything. He simply smirked.

"And what makes you think you can do it... 'Half-Hig'?", asked Sev.

"Well, that is another curious, but _short_ story.", explained Hakha. "As you can see, it is not easy for someone with my age to easily have a job when you retired from military and politics, even more when you are... someone like me. I've had to fight through harder than if I was in a battlefield. In the end, I've became a consultant for a Chemistry college, but my studies took me to understand a considerable part of judicial process, and even had a diploma for it. Which makes me an un-official lawyer, of course, but one also able to _perform._"

They simply looked at each other before Rico answered.

"Alright, Mr. Suit, let's see what you can do."

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, CITY HALL - MAY 25TH, 2360**

From Auran Stracht's point of view, the City Hall for Constantine City was something... small_._ That is, for the _tall_ buildings around it. Still, it was a center of power, given the amount of flags of the Helghast Empire and it's Triad, it's first Triad, he thought, as well as the outdated Hound LBTs stationed behind those flags. The building itself had a sizable height of a courtroom, but the wideness of one of the elite Helghast houses in the Sixth Pantheonic state, with the differences being no garden, only that white slate concrete being split in half by a dark pathway, connecting the public gate to the stairs leading to the entrance of the City Hall. Besides windows and the evident white-grey color, the front held a hybrid between Greek-Roman style and official German architecture dating from the reign of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Third Reich.

Auran walked past the pathway and it's crowded area, noticing agitation, but a controlled one. Certainly, his actions against that food riot had _something _to do with it. He still could hear the screams in his head once that idiot unhoisted that pistol and fired it. Screams, not just of people. Of guns too. Their infinite fury of fire and steel screaming death to anyone their spit, their bullets, hit the spot.

_"Auran, please, now isn't the time!"_, would've shouted his father, shoulde he be alive after witnessing the end of the riot. _"They made the first move, you merely pushed back. Remember, on chess, you always must be the black piece. For white, although as good-looking as it is, always makes the first move. Always! And you waited until the pistol fired, the moment you knew you should act. This isn't any motive for shame!"_

Auran, having reached the first degrees of the City Halls steps, put aside all those thoughts as he met a man with short and white hair, with blue eyes waiting for him, dressed with an attire which seemed to be a Helghast officer, but was actually a civilian.

"Commander Stracht, I presume.", said the civilian.

"Mayor Skyler.", said Auran, saluting him. Helghast salutation was far different than any other. Auran demonstrated so by stretching his left arm all the way forward and a bit upward, forming a fist out of his hand and then bringing the thumb's side of that fist to his right shoulder. Skyler simply looked at it with curiosity.

"I am no military superior officer, Commander. But I appreciate some of this... courtesy.", commented Skyler.

"My superior officer was quite rigid with respecting authority, sir, regardless if it's civilian or military.", answered Auran.

"I see.", Skyler said. "And perhaps I might guess you could arrange some political favor with it, given you can do better than that."

Auran simply stood there, confused.

"Sir?", he asked.

"Do you know something of the responsibility of a Mayor, Commander?", inquired Skyler.

"Not much, sir, only the basic, that the mayor is not only an administrator, responsible for upkeeping a city, but also responsible for it's prosperity and security.", answered Auran.

"Exactly. And lately security has been becoming my personal concern.", explained Skyler. "I did not have any kind of problems before, but ever since this cataclysm overcame our great Constantine City, a myriad of problems has been giving me reasons to either leave the office or execute myself."

Auran and Skyler started to walk around the exterior of the City Hall.

"The energy and lack of food for the population. I know, sir.", spoke Auran.

"Speaking of which, I should thank you for the handling you had for the situation yesterday.", spoke Skyler.

"You're welcome, Mayor.", spoke Auran.

"However...", Skyler said. "I noticed you have waited _far too long_ before you acted, you waited until someone fired a weapon. Could you explain to me what was that?"

Auran stayed a little nervous for a while, but nothing that could break his natural-looking demeanor.

"Sir...", hesitated Auran.

"In case I remember, the law states clearly that riots and acts of violence contrary to the administration are an act of sedition against the nation and the great Triad, possibly an act of treason. You had all authority to act, but you acted like a _civilian_ who had no stomach for war! Weakness is something the Empire cannot afford.", advised Skyler, with a tone of severity.

Auran gathered his courage to explain clearly to the man who was complaining of his lack of _'courage'_. But Auran knew better.

"Sir.", explained Auran. "You perhaps may see _criminals_ gathering in the public gate, but I saw none of that yesterday. The people I shot were servants of the nation, loyal to Helghan and the Triad. The bodies of thirty dead men and woman had files with no criminal records whatsoever. The only wrong thing they did against the nation was complaining of their hungry stomachs, despite all their hard work and contributions to the Empire and to the City."

"You believe you have seen good servants yesterday, when they fired a pistol on my City Hall?", provoked Skyler.

"I have, yes, sir!", spoke Auran, firmly. "And need I remind there is no telling of any survivors outside this... bubble that is shielding us from the cataclysm outside, nor contact from other cities in the _whole_ of Helghan! Combined from the refugees of our once mighty capital, Pyhrrus, we can assume more than one million are all that are left. Not only from the Empire, Mayor, but the Helghast species! And, unless you relish the loss of useful manpower for armed forces, I can ill afford shooting _anyone complaining of starving_... sir."

Skyler simply looked at him with a sight Auran couldn't determine it was either anger or a nervous one. Who was that man in uniform to dare question the laws of the Triad? But he indeed brought some good points too, especially the part concerning not managing to find useful manpower.

"So... it seems you have a code of conduct of your own. But that may be a problem concerning what I have for you.", spoke Skyler.

"And, may I inquire, what that would be, sir?", asked Auran.

"When you have answered my former question, about the responsibility of a Mayor, concerning security, I did not mention only the food and energy riots occurring through out my city. There are other groups, as well, who could take advantage of the situation we face.", said Skyler.

"Like the Scavengers?", asked Auran. "For the last weeks we have been managing to deal with those outlaws. I do not understand, sir."

Auran's voice could far easily confirm the truth than the report files showing the arrests and confirmed kills of the bandits. After all, the Scavengers were just a little annoyance in Constantine City of that cataclysm time, militias formed to venture outside the shield bubble, past all the Helghast armed border defenses, the Ion Storms outside and the vicious toxic cloud to collect any useful remnants of the once Helghan, like guns, fuel and such, to sell in some underground black market the Helghast military were still to find. And a black market still in formation in Constantine City.

Black markets in Helghast society were only allowed to function with the permission of the Autarch, with the proper distribution of allowed goods. The problem was, with the world-wide irradiation of Helghan, the fall of the Autarch and the destruction of the black markets, opportunistic groups took advantage of this situation to illegally sell products, away from the jurisdiction of the government.

A curious thing relating Auran to the Scavengers was that he only began to stand against them when they started to sell food from outside the shield bubble, by which hospitalized people due to intoxication from the Petrusite-irradiated atmosphere. Ever since then, he has been becoming an experience veteran on hunting Scavenger forces. He led expeditions to far from the shield bubble, searching for the huge debris and caves, at the cost of a few men. Obviously, he always warned that those not strong enough to resist the effects of Petrusite irradiation should not stay in the expedition.

"It is not just Scavengers, Commander, but other groups of interest.", spoke Skyler. "Groups like... the Amazons."

The last word caught Auran's attention.

"_The Amazons? _Were they not supposed to be rumors?", asked Auran.

"Unlike the other Commanders claimed, Stracht, unfortunately not. And very unlike your superior officer.", claimed Skyler.

Auran always knew something about the rumors he heard, concerning these 'Amazons', but his superior officers imposed time and again the fact they did not exist. At least, not yet, as investigations never determined anything. To his superior officer, Auran and the other Commanders should concern themselves with concrete problems, like the riots, criminals, violators and the Scavengers.

"But, sir... It cannot be, there is no evidence, nothing, not even rumors of attack!", insisted Auran on the impossibility.

"It is because the Amazons are nothing like the Scavengers. They are far careful in their planning and it's execution.", explained Skyler. "Scavengers tend to move and strike like simpletons, Commander, they move in predictable supply routes in convoy lines, scrambling only when things are difficult. Most of their _'infantry'_ has terrible aim."

Auran was quite curious on where Skyler learned on that. He said exactly what major Scavenger groups did.

"The Amazons, however, are what you may call the opposite side of the coin, Stracht. They operate in silence and shadows, covering all their moves and moving different directions, with an uncanny speed. They can tear apart an _entire_ division, picking off the weakest at every turn, dividing and shattering the strongest positions, many times from within. Then, they arrive in broad light, to finish it off. Even so, they are also capable of direct assault, albeit it is not so effective as our own.", concluded Skyler.

Auran just kept listening Skyler, even as there was nothing plausible to his claims.

"Can you prove any of this?", asked Auran.

"As a matter of fact I can, but I should ask: What do _YOU_ know of the Amazons?", asked Skyler, in his turn.

"The only thing I know was that they were mentioned to be a fighting arm of the illegal female activist movement.", answered Auran. "Which, pardon my opinion, I also have to object on it."

"What do you mean?", asked Skyler, intrigued.

"Mayor, even as Visari rose to power and reestablished our society, there was still those Earthly _antiquated_ traditions of male supremacy and the idea of keeping them away from military, scientific, political and infra-structure duties. Then, on the time of their protest, we reacted with violence. Perhaps this might have awaken the women they'd need to fight for their freedom in these lines of work, therefore this story of the Amazon forces.", inquired Auran.

"Need I remind you of the desperate times, after the First War and how those bastard Human dogs condemned us to die here, how our women were _four times in smaller number_ than the men of our time?", said Skyler, after a brief moment of silence.

"I was taught of it through history class in boot camp, sir.", answered Auran.

"And still you speak as a supporter for them, Auran!", replied Skyler, with severity.

"Mayor Skyler, my point is that, should we have thought differently, allowing them some space after they managed to increase their numbers, perhaps there would be no need for the existance of the movement, much less the Amazons.", replied Skyler with a firm tone once more.

"Oh...", spoke Skyler with an ironic tone. "So, you would better prefer to avoid such problem than face it altogether."

"My duty is the protection of the Helghast populace, Mayor.", replied Auran. "And, should that mean facing these Amazons, I will do so. Just do not expect me to _share_ the visions you and other persons share, sir."

Some silence went on, but Skyler gave no answer in his part.

"So, then... I ask again, sir, can you prove anything you said?", asked Auran.

"As I told you, _I can_: I do have an informant in their ranks.", said Skyler.

Auran had his attention caught at the _'informant'_ word. Things as large as the female activist movement, if they indeed were large, as Skyler claimed, were always _prone_ to have people contrary to their believes or looking for a greater gain than what they had. Even if that meant opening their mouth to forces opposed to the movement. There were only two questions concerning such a thing: The Who and the Why.

"_Informant?_", asked Auran. "Who might that be?"

"Well, this kind of information is reserved to only myself and her, and I would prefer it remained that way.", replied Skyler, readily.

Auran had seen in Skyler's eyes there'd be no way to insist on the question.

"And, this informant, sir...", asked Auran, preparing to formulate his question. "Has she said anything of when they will act or where?"

Skyler waited a while before answering.

"Nothing, unfortunately, but she informed me of the latest meeting of their leadership circle, which they call the Joint.", he said. "According to the voice tones in the room, it seems a military campaign may be launched at any time."

"_At any time?_", asked Auran, intrigued. "In that case I would need to prepare the 1st Reserve now!"

"Perhaps, Commander, but without calling attention.", readily claimed Skyler. "If we hope to survive against them we cannot force them to change their plans, which, doubtless, will include the invasion of the City Hall. Which is what I'll need you to defend when the time comes."

"But how are we _supposed_ to be prepared to defend it without calling too much attention, and without the military knowing?", asked Auran.

Skyler simply said nothing. Just looked at him. A wave of suspicion came across Auran.

"You will not tell anything, will you?", asked Auran, disgusted with Skyler's neutral and serene attitude.

"Only to those with an open mind and who I can trust.", replied Skyler. "And you do not have a mind as close to facts as the others. The question is...", he said as he came closer to Auran and whispered: "_Can I trust you?_"

Auran didn't say anything. He simply nodded.

"Good. You know what to do when the time comes. But, for now... all continues as it should be.", said Skyler as he wavered lightly to the outside and turned around. "You can go now."

Auran, before leaving the City Hall, stood there with a whirlwind of thoughts, incredibly mixed with confusion, anger, doubt and such, bursting on his grey matter called a brain. _'That bastard...'_, he thought. _'He knows I'm the weakest of all Commanders because of my questioning of orders, but he doesn't know my criteria. Not to mention he must be a conservative one, considering how I acted on that riot yesterday. And who is this informant amongst the Amazons he claims so much to have? Do they **EVEN **exist? Something is simply not making sense here...'_

Auran stepped away from the City Hall, beginning his march towards another destination: The Helghast CMC, the Central Military Command.

* * *

**PLANET VEKTA, WESTERN REGION, NEW IDAHO - MAY 25TH, 2360**  
**ISA SHADOW DIVISION HEADQUARTERS, CODENAME _'LANGDON'_**

The small, peaceful town of New Idaho in Vekta was one of the few places uscathed by the Helghast invasion at the beginning of the Second Extrasolar War. Small, compact houses connected each other in a myriad of asphalt web, as well as some stores that, unlike Constantine City, sold plentiful, decent food at an accessible price. There was little need for larger power supplies in this town, as most people worked in the larger truck storages, transporting cargo and giving rest to other truck drivers who arrived there. New Idaho was simply a bridge between the docks and spaceports to larger metropolis like Vekta City or Rayhoven.

This simpleton transporting community, however, held one of it's greatest secrets below it's own City Hall, something that explained it's rather uncommon car movement. Below the rustic building, there was a _huge_ high-tech underground complex, with the most illuminated corridors possible, large rooms filled with computers, huge screens and workstations and highly guarded by ISA soldiers and other types of people. These other soldiers wore full cover clothing, with armor lighter than the ISA troopers themselves and green binoculars in their supposed _'eyes'_. They had nothing but a sidearm, but it was no problem for them. It was because they were trained in the most lethal martial arts known in Earth. It was because they were _assassins._

_Trained to think, never feel. Trained to act, never reflect._

At least, that was the known motto concerning the _Shadow Division_, the most advanced intelligence force known in the ISA and the UCN. They had many stations and headquarters in other ISA-controlled worlds, but none were as important as it's largest one, the _Langdon_ facility, coincindentally stationed in New Idaho, a place no one would bother looking for in a long time.

And that's where a simpleton employee, wearing nothing more but a common work outfit, social white shirt, tie, pants with belt and black shoes, was walking on, towards the director's office, carrying the intelligence reports of the day and another paper addressed to the director's eyes only.

He simply knocked on the door of the office, signaling he'd come in.

The director's office sounded more like a rudimentary one, found in major corporate buildings, with a polished and very-well organized black table, with a laptop computer atop, a lavish business chair and a small bin for the usual paper garbage. There was very little room for painted walls, as almost all of the room, at the front end had a complex window cube with track blinds on each side, allowing the director's view of the intelligence room below. A view perfect enough for the slender feminine frame, facing backwards the employee, beholding the intelligence room. She was formally dressed with a simple gray suit, pants, white shirt and black shoes. She had a red hair with a simple ponytail decorating it.

"Director, there's something you should read. I have brought the reports of the day along, too.", said the employee.

"Leave it on the table.", said the figure, with a seemingly mature, calm voice, with an apparently British accent. The employee immediately left the office, leaving the documentation on the table.

The figure turned around and sat on her chair to read the intelligence reports. One by one, from recon pictures to the latest encrypted data, she went on reading until she noticed a mail envelope among the documents. That was quite uncommon, since paper-issued information, from newspapers to mail itself, were abandoned as they were _'obsolete'_, compared to the instant video feed and faster internet. That envelope could only mean it came from official government sources.

Her delicate hands, both with red, long nails and one with a ring on the finger, picked up and opened the envelope, delivered from Rayhoven City, Southern Region, Vekta, which said: **COURT SUMMONS.**

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, SQUARE C-11 - MAY 25TH, 2360**  
**HELGHAST CENTRAL MILITARY COMMAND**

Despite being guarded a bit more than the City Hall, the difference being machine gun nests and two Anti-Air Gun Batteries, the Helghast Central Military Command was a wide five-store building, something somewhat not fit for the main branch, or what's left of it, of the Helghast military leadership. It held a rudimentary set of offices and communication rooms in every floor of the building, allowing things to function, not normally, indeed, but still function.

The inside lobby, where Auran Stracht entered, reminded somewhat of an old hotel, but without reception, as the desk was taken by a Helghast trooper occupied with monitoring security in several areas Constantine City had a surveillance for. Still, there was more surveillance rooms through out the building.

"Sir!", greeted the Trooper to Auran, saluting him in doing so.

"At ease, soldier.", said Auran. The trooper followed. "Is Colonel Nolt in his office?"

The Trooper looked at one of the monitors. "Yes, sir, he is, should I inform him you are on your way there?", asked the Trooper.

"By all means.", ordered Auran, immediately going up the stairs behind the trooper, and progressing through the corridors, painted with some dark red tapestry imported from Pyhrrus, and other stairs until arriving to a door Auran knew to be the office of his superior. He simply knocked twice on the door before entering.

Theron Nolt's office seemed to be a remainder of Soviet Russian offices after World War II, with some considerable mess on the simple wooden table and a rustic, but comfortable chair. Some pieces of paper seemed to be down on the floor, mostly as rotten as they were from age. A messed file covered a part of the right wall, with some cabinets opened a bit. The paper bin was somewhat full from both intact and destroyed paper as well. In all means, the office of Colonel Theron Nolt seemed like an office used after a stressful day, urgently requiring clean-up and organization. Other than that, there was only some window with venetian blinds allowing a look to the city.

Nolt himself was bald, as traditional with all Helghast military personnel, but his facial features could distinguish him from other Commanders and officers: His face held somewhat of a scar, with the thickness of a knife cut, stretching from his forehead, through the farthest reach of his right eye, to the right cheek. Courtesy of the brutal hand to hand combat he had with ISA soldiers in Pyhrrus before the Petrusite cataclysm. Nolt also had diamond-green eyes, his nose was cartooningly long and thick and short facial hair on his chin and lower cheeks, strecthing thin. Many Helghast soldiers joked about that, with some changes, Nolt could easily become a double of the deceased Admiral Orlock. Of course, the only problem would be changing the shape of his forehead, which was somewhat smaller than the one of the Admiral himself. The rest of his body was somewhat a little over the standard weight, even more with the tight uniform we wore, mixing similarities between Earthly German, Russian and British Uniforms.

As Nolt turned around from his view on the window to face Auran, the Commander saluted.

"Colonel.", Auran said. Nolt followed on his salute, keeping a calm attitude.

"Surely must be a quite healthy morning on this here town, my friend.", said Nolt, gesturing to the outside on the window. "Still, you seem like you saw some nervousness coming to greet you in the morning. _Definitely_ it doesn't suit you, especially on this time. How was it with the Mayor?"

"Disturbing.", answered Auran, not wanting to waste time. "He's been spreading lies to my ears, wanting me to safeguard the City Hall while he cowers on the basement."

"Please, Commander...", scoffed Nolt. "He's a _politician._ Attitudes like that are quite natural for his species. What lies has he been sneaking onto you, Auran?"

"The existence of the Amazons, sir.", answered Auran.

Nolt didn't react, he just scoffed again. "Doesn't he know they do not exist?", he asked, jokingly.

"That is what I _told_ him.", answered Auran. "Still, he insisted on it and claiming they are far more dangerous than Scavengers."

"That is not new.", spoke Nolt.

"And that he had an informant within the group.", spoke Auran. Like it happened to him, the _'informant'_ word caught Nolt's attention.

"Informant? Is it?", asked Nolt, intrigued.

"I asked for the name, but he refused to give it, sir.", commented Auran. "But this _'informant'_ of his told a beginning of a military campaign is imminent within the Amazons."

Nolt contemplated the situation for a while before answering. "Well, that can either be true or a false alarm, Commander.", he said.

"Sir?", asked Auran.

"If Skyler didn't give the name of the informant, he either fears a leak to the enemy or he's trying to _convince_ you anyway he can.", replied Nolt.

"That may seem impossible, sir, he readily spoke of it, the tone almost too convincing to be a lie.", commented Auran.

"I told you, Commander: He's a politician.", spoke Nolt. "Sound too convincing is his line of work."

Auran saw Nolt had quite a point on that.

"But, if so...", spoke Auran, trying to formulate a question for the Colonel. "Do you think Skyler may be speaking some truth in this?"

Nolt went on to face Auran before answering.

"Commander... A few years ago I believed the Helghast army was quite _invincible_, especially with the new Petrusite technology.", he said. "Time, however, proved me wrong. And that shield bubble was the proof. So... Indeed, there is no evidence of the Amazons' existance, Auran. But lack of proof itself does not exclude the _possibility_ that they might be real."

"But, then, sir... What I am to do?", asked Auran.

"Very simple.", answered Nolt. "The Mayor offered you to become his _'bodyguard'_, which means you may have more information on his schemes than anyone. Accept it. Keep us aware of anything he might be planning."

"Even if they meant contrary to your sense of command, Colonel?", inquired Auran.

The Colonel, however, wasn't so easy to provoke, and took it as an assumption. "By all means.", he said. "And be careful as well, your death would literally turn my life a hell harder as it is."

Auran wasn't sure he should get that as a joke from the Colonel, but he was curious nonetheless. "Excuse me, Colonel, but... what have I done to make your life a literal hell?", he asked.

Nolt simply smiled.

"You slept well after that riot yesterday, haven't you?"

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, COBAR SQUARE - MAY 25TH, 2360**  
**STAHL ARMS INC. - CORPORATE OFFICES.**

Once, Stahl Arms Incorporated was a name of _respect_ on Helghan. Every Helghast rifle carried by every known Helghast trooper was known to carry the triangle trademark of the corporation. This symbol represented an open triangle facing down, but with a division cut on the left side, forming a sort of an arrow pointing to the upper-right. While their competitors were more concerned with support weapons and high technology, Stahl Arms flooded the market with their automatic weapons, increasing their power over the weapons' industry in Helghan. The most famous of those was their basic firearm for all Helghast soldiers, the StA52 Assault Rifle. Of course, there were _other_ weapons they created, like their own sniper rifle, and even _war machines_ like the dreaded MAWLR, but mass-produced infantry weapons were the business of this corporation. It ensured a literal ocean of funds for many installations and production. The fund was so vast it even paid it's own private military force, backed with the best technology the company could provide.

But those days were long gone, suddenly and very much saddening. In a simple glance, all of planet Helghan was consumed by a violent green shockwave of destruction. And many installations of the corporation went along with the devastation. In only one minute, there was no more vast fortune, no more industrial empire, and there was _barely_ enough of the private military to protect the remaining installations from angry riots and bandit Scavengers.

The man sit on his chair, on the dark office where he stood, didn't like to think so, but reality was reality. In his sixty years of life, forty of them building up his career, he treated the company he helped build like family: He helped it so much as it helped _him._ For this fat, old, short haired man, Stahl Arms meant everything for him, but now... Now that prosperity he enjoyed seemed like a _dream,_ from which he awakened finding himself surrounded in a land of _real nightmare._

And he knew what caused this: _Irradiated Petrusite_. For it wasn't dangerous nor useful before the Autarch ordered the devastation of Pyhrrus with ISA-stolen nuclear ordinance. But then it happened, thanks to the ISA invasion, and his boss ordered the start of it's full-scale use. He claimed it was the _future._ And he was right. Without that thing, there would not be advanced weaponry, there would not be giant and well-powered war machines, there would not be energy weapons or _shielding._ It was only thanks to Petrusite and it's tempering with nuclear materials that the Helghast Empire truly _overcame_ the ISA in weapons technology.

Indeed, Armaire Torin, senior executive of the corporation, could have something to say about it. But the looks outside that window said everything for him. But, regardless of how the situation was, he could remember the old coot, his boss, Jorhan Stahl say:

_"There was once a sport on Earth called the 'football'. It was banned over the 22nd Century in that ridiculous attempt of re-socializing people, making them more gentle and less-violent. Cluster-fuck for softening humans, I say. Because that sport was what epitomized the ongoing of corporate existence. We ARE a corporation, gentleman, make no mistake about it, Stahl Arms fights for it's existence. In football, the goal was simple, take the ball to the opponent's field. Can anyone imagine how bitchy ridiculous is that? Any kid who don't know how to play could consider it a milk run!_

_But **HOW** to play? Now that was the catch. Because you had to go through every one who got in your way. If you fell, no matter if you broke the leg, the arm or any other thing, you had to get up and keep moving. For that, they said you needed either speed or strength, but I say all the player needed was some raw, pig-headed stubbornness. That's how they won in the game. And that's how we win in the corporate game. No matter how many times we fall, we always get up and run on those fucking yards. Because life's binary, gentlemen: We either do it... or we don't."_

Torin made a brief smirk on that, because he remembered how funny it was every time Stahl said those words. The man spoke them like they were some crude truth the ruthless universe could throw at everyone, human or Helghast. Because this _'football'_, as Stahl remembered, wasn't something soft or childish talking about _'teamplay'_. It was about the _individual_ himself. The _one man_ that needed to be strong, regardless of cost. Because if one man was enough to win a game, hell, a team of these same 'one man' could win the championship.

Torin did miss him... somewhat. Stahl was radical, was temperamental, was typical of a boss with major control issues, but he was a barrel of laughs with those speeches. And a _visionary._

But then, the office's door violently bursted out, as if someone broke through it for an invasion. Torin scared up and turned around to see two Helghast soldiers, both bearing marks of the corporation, aiming at him with some sort of weaponry only Torin recognized: The StA5x Arc Cannon, powered with Irradiated Petrusite, capable of killing with one shot or continued fire. He simply got on his feet slowly and looked with an angry manner.

"Can someone please explain what is THE MEANING OF THIS?", he asked, furious.

"Sit down, Armair!", ordered an old, rispid voice in the deep shadow between and behind the two soldiers. "_Right... fucking... now!_"

Torin sounded suprised and intrigued. _'What?_', he thought. _'Only a person has such speaking... It can't be!'_

It was when he then saw. The same old, rough face. The same deep, blue eyeballs with shining which was difficult to distinguish pride from madness. The same white, messed hair, still but yet looking like it needed a comb. And the same formal dressing, the same dark office shirt, the same grey tie, the same suit which looked like an antique officer's dressing, but it wasn't.

Armair Torin was looking, shocked at the sight, at the _alive_ Jorhan Stahl, his former boss, first hand.

"_You're dead!_", spoke Torin, still caught by the sight.

"Stop acting like you've seen a ghost, thank you very much.", Stahl simply answered. "It's time we got back to work."

* * *

**NOTES:  
**- The original notes denoting clear statement for this story, like the AU warning and such, can be found in the prologue (Or chapter 1, whichever you like).  
- Thanks to AU, it's possible to add some more 'realistic' weaponry more suited for the story. The Hound was one I was far proud to add up.

* * *

Well, that's it for now. And I happily announced I've finalized Chapter 3 and I'm working on Chapter 4. Read, enjoy and comment. Thank you.


	4. Chapter 3: A Ball For The Hammer Fall

**THE BLACK ROSE  
AN ORIGINAL AND UN-OFFICIAL KILLZONE FAN-FICTION**

**CHAPTER III - A BALL FOR THE HAMMER FALL**

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, SIX PANTHEONIC STATE - MAY 25TH, 2360**  
**VISARI RESIDENCE**

The next day, for Makro Golan, is somewhat complicated to go through, especially with repeating the same routines, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Just making the custom black coffee and preparing the usual toasted bread, on small portions. Then, head away from the kitchen, passing through the steps of the vast social room, to her room. Then, it was about waiting for the next order of the day and deliver her the reports of the day from the company.

_Her._ Makro Golan's employer. Which was in the same room of the house that could easily be called a mansion.

The corridor where Makro walked on was somewhat finely decorated with classic dark purple painting on the walls, with bronze stripes intertwining each other at every turn, but still in a harmonic pattern. The brown, cold floor, painted to sound like a wooden floor, was also decorated with a lengthy tapestry. The corridor had doors on both left and right sides, of white hand-made wood, allowing access to each of the sixty rooms in the upper section of the house. Makro stopped on one of the doors and knocked twice on it.

"Makro.", he said, waiting an answer allowing him to enter.

"Come in.", spoke a soft but firm female voice, coming from inside.

Makro opened the door and entered the wide room. It somewhat seemed like a princess sleeping room, with the exception the bed didn't have any decorations aside from the organized covering Makro knew he didn't made. There was a pair of wide windows allowing gaze to the outer, empty gardens and their pathways. The walls of the room were painted in pure white, giving no room to decoration. The floor itself was white marble-painted with some tapestry was well, giving a fine touch to it. There was also a large classic-styled wardrobe and a modified wooden writing desk with a middle-sized window, installed on the table for coordinated make-up and hairdressing. On the top of that desk there was some closed make-up equipment on the left corner, some combs and hairbrushes stored in a box on the right corner, as well as some expensive order-made pens lying around. In the middle between them, there was some paper piece as well as a book written in Helghast language.

But no furniture, small or large, was the feature of the room. Instead, it was the person already inside it, looking at one of the windows to the outside. A female figure, with a fine black formal dress, with no clothing above her breast area, leaving bare shoulders and neck, which had a luxurious white necklace. Her hair, black as the night sky of older Helghan, was somewhat styled for a formal occasion, kept upward with a personal silver comb in the back.

Makro took no gaze at the female figure, he went on to place the made breakfast set into the bed. "I see you made the bed yourself again, my lady.", he commented.

"If you prefer you'd rather organize it, I'll leave it a mess then.", replied the woman.

"I did not mean to speak this way, my lady.", said Makro, as he indeed had no intention of offending his employer.

"I know, Makro.", spoke the lady.

"Your breakfast is prepared, as well as the recent report charts from the office.", spoke Makro. The female instead spoke nothing, she simply turned around, revealing her frontal side.

She seemed somewhat like a delicate porcelain doll, which should be left untouched. Soft cheek bones and a sharp mouth, not showing evidence of silicon improvements. A small nose and ears of what would seem the perfect size for the woman. Light skin, almost human, which would be perfect without the make-up, but that wouldn't prejudice it nevertheless. And eyes emitting a diamond-like green color, almost matching the three craved green stones on the necklace.

Her look emitted a conjunction of both serenity and authority. A look she had been training for years, enough to discomfort anyone who'd have second ideas over her. Makro wasn't afraid, nor has he shown any signs of it. But that look was pretty well enough to take out most of his confidence as butler.

"Makro... Do you know what day is it?", she asked, not changing her serious tone.

Makro hesitated before answering.

"May 25th, my lady.", he said.

"And you know this simply _isn't_ the day, isn't it?", she inquired.

"I understand, my lady.", spoke Makro.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing another female figure, this time utilizing a grey custom of a maid attire, bringing some cleaning equipment. She then took notice of Makro and the rich female lady looking at her and looked quite nervous.

"A-a-apologies, m-my lady, mister Golan, I-", spoke the maid, stuttering at the glance the lady gave her.

"Remain calm, miss Tiopa.", interrupted Makro, intervening to calm the maid down. "I'm certain your services will not be needed in this room."

"Yes, o-of-f course.", spoke Tiopa, proceeding on with leaving, before...

"One moment, miss Tiopa.", spoke the lady. The maid turned around, more nervous than she was.

"M-my l-lady?", Tiopa stuttered again.

"I suppose you are quite new in this occupation, are you not?", asked the rich lady.

"Y-yes.", Tiopa answered.

"Remember this, then: You only apologize if you have done something wrong.", spoke the lady. "You made no error in entering, you were just performing your work. Therefore... Do not apologize on doing nothing. _Ever._ Are we quite clear, miss Tiopa?"

"Y-yes, my lady.", answered the maid.

"When you are outside, you take a deep breath.", advised the lady. "I am not so... _rash..._ in my actions. Unlike others."

She then, using two fingers of her right hand raised and tucked together, she wavered her hand, horizontally, to the right, meaning the dismissal of both the employees. "You are dismissed. You both.", she said.

Makro, before leaving, took a brief bow in reverence. "Lady Visari.", he spoke.

"Mister Golan.", she spoke.

Makro simply left the door of the house, along with Tiopa, leaving Lady Visari alone to wonder. No questions asked.

Outside, Tiopa was attempting to breathe on, recovering from the quasi foul-up she's done. Makro just looked at her.

"It is better we do nothing to unplease her, miss Tiopa. Today is simply _not_ the best day.", he said.

"What d-do you mean, mister Golan?", asked Tiopa, somewhat calm now, but still retaining some nervousness.

"It's the completion of the seventh month since her father died.", he answered.

* * *

**ONE HOUR LATER  
OUTSIDE, IN THE GARDENS**

The sky in that mid-day sounded somewhat serene, like a clouded day morning. But still, it was capable of seeing the strains in the shield, working at their best to contain the Petrusite irradiation, perfect for that day. And still, that sounded like a scenario of terror, but Lady Visari herself had to grow used to it. She had grown used to far too much things in the past seven months. In the past twenty years, she had grown used to it.

And yet, she wondered... _Why was it she still felt it like it was yesterday?_ Of course, the day after was of constant pain and grief, but not as it sounded the hours after the news was given.

The news that her father, the great Autarch of Helghan, died.

But not in disease or the passing of natural time. It was far brutal than that. He was _murdered._ By the enemies who already left the Helghast race to die. On that time, she was completely broken and resorting to insane measures.

Were not for her friend, who shared that pain too much as well, she'd not survive that week.

Lady Visari went on to a special area in the gardens of her residence, that place where she alone could find some old remembrance of good days. She didn't bother looking at the other decorations trying to fill the huge voids of that empty green garden, divided by the pathways, she only wanted to get there, yet she was walking slowly.

Until she stopped by a giant, black steel statue of a bald man with a somewhat gross nose, stationed in it's large, black marble cubic base, looking somewhat like a graveyard tomb, wearing some sort of coat and with a posture as he was standing on his feet, making a political proclamation.

The statue of Scolar Visari. Autarch Scolar Visari. Lady Visari's father.

She stood in the frontal side of the statue, where, in the base, were two plates, one with an inscription of the family name and another with the name of it's members, along with their dates of birth and death, all in Human English. Many Helghast thought it as strange, considering Scolar Visari was the one who totally created the Helghast alphabet, but he wished so, and his wish, _even in death_, was something not to be denied.

**VISARI**

**SCOLAR GREIM VISARI (2307 - 2359)**  
**KATRINA GUNSTELING VISARI (2311 - 2332)**  
**STRATUS VISARI (2332)**

**FOR ALL CONTRIBUTION DONE FOR HELGHAN,**  
**THEY ARE FALLEN, BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN.**

Lady Visari could read, as clear as day, the names of her father, mother and the brother she never came to grow up with. The brother who died in birth with her mother, when Lady Visari was still far too young and not so formed in the customs demanded by the Helghast elite caste. She wished she could know the latter both, but it was her father she missed the most. The man who was proud of her, despite of everything that happened, and the man who'd not abandon her, as she never let him down but _once._ The one who taught her the three great words that dignified the Helghast leadership.

_Conviction. Vision. Determination._ They always sounded, by a fate of irony, similar to the Helghast Triad that Scolar helped created.

And yet, there was something staining a border of the plate of the family member names, a stain of time itself. Lady Visari saw it and wasted no efforts in getting on her knees and using her own white gloves to wipe it clean. She wouldn't simply allow something like that to try and _hinder_ the source of her best and worse memories she spent. She spared no strength, and she knew it was something she _alone_ had to do, just like making up her own bed.

She kept going on and on, even as the stain gone out, using her strength. In doing so, however, she began to feel something else. That same feeling she had months ago, of that _anguish_, desperation, sorrow, anger and grief, all those emotions mixed together like in a whirlwind and amplified a _thousand-fold._ The feeling kept growing until tears started coming out of her eyes and her breathing pattern came stronger and faster, but still she didn't make any crying noise.

She was strong, but apparently it _just_ wasn't enough for a feeling like this. Months had passed and she let go on, but there was still some tear to make due for. She then stopped and layed her back on the base, like some child and not a rich lady, not being anymore capable of doing that cleaning with her gloves, but she managed to at last clean that damn stain.

But then something came up on her. An old memory, with her and her father. Something she could find some comfort with. She calmed down, despite all the grief.

The only thing wrong was..._ It was the day of her last dance with him._

* * *

**THREE YEARS AGO...**

It was a fresh and star-filled night outside the Visari residence, but the real beauty lied _inside_ the building, inside the vast social room, where the large, classic luxury lamp provided most of the needed light, but other side lamps on the white walls didn't falter with providing the light on the sparse room. There was little to describe the rooms floor due to the great amount of people gathered there, like Makro and other servants attending to the people with the drinks and small food portions suitable for the cream of the crop of the Helghast society. There were no curtains that night on the social room, leaving the windows bare and exposed to the night sky. To fill the void of silence, a group of violinists, as well as a pianist, stood by a special stage, playing the music of the time.

Many of the male guests wore the appropriate social attire, some of them with beams of red color with border black and white stripes crossing their torso, also decorated with medals of sorts, denoting their superior power in Helghast society as military officers or members of the once Helghast Senate, a small elitist council responsible for upkeeping the bureaucracy in the Helghast Empire and the city of Pyhrrus. With that, Scolar Visari could easily concentrate on other matters in a _wider_ scale for the nation. Only some military figures, like Admiral Orlock and General Metrac, kept their original military attire they used when they weren't in any social event. Not only them, but, also, the only civilian which didn't seem to change his clothing was Jorhan Stahl, Chairman of Stahl Arms Inc. The female guests were mainly dressed with luxurious attire of varied sizes, but most of them seemed to carry white, pink or purple colors, varied hairstyles and colors, obviously most were _treated_ with chemicals to support the intolerance of Helghan's conditions at the time.

But not Lady Visari. She was dressed with the custom-made golden attire with symmetrical white stripes she gained years ago, properly made for the occasion. Such was the advantage of being the _daughter_ of the great Autarch, but she wasn't any custom person to abuse of such privilege. Not like those other _naughty_ ladies next to her in the table, talking rubbish to each other and senselessly laughing at it.

_'Foolish ladies...'_, she thought. _'Never experienced any hardships nor took preventive action against it, but wait until you see, oh, you just wait...'_

Of course, she remembered she'd just be like them, were not for all the classes and private education her father pushed her into, ever since she was five years old. Obviously she followed suit, her father advising her some things. But it was only after _that day_ everything changed. The day to that visit in the Library in Pyhrrus. It was only supposed to be a text research, but then came the liking of obtaining information from those pieces of paper the humans used to call _books._ Ever since then... life _changed_ to her, she had grown beyond her own self. Somewhat.

"Well, I see you are far too _reserved_ for something so delicate. Even for a supposed _'Black Rose'_.", spoke an elder, sarcastic voice behind her. But she didn't bother to turn around at all, as she knew who it was: Her father's competitor and the most abusive member in Helghast society, whom came to stand beside Lady Visari the moment some of those naughty women left the table and went on to the crowd behind her.

And it was obvious Jorhan Stahl did know of that title the young males of the elite have given to Lady Visari. The young ones who attempted time and again to pair with her. With little success of course, as her resistance was unbreakable. Yet, she came to like that title.

"Perhaps.", she answered.

"Perhaps?", asked Stahl, smirking as he got to pick up a glass of champagne. "The daughter of the Autarch of Helghan is delicate, intelligent, beautiful and, dare I say, very well educated, but not _social_ with others, be they girls or boys... Shameful, should you be planning to establish a family base and continue the Visari name."

"Which is not on my plans as of yet.", Lady Visari answered. "Now... what do you want, Stahl?"

"Please, Ilinia...", scoffed Stahl, drinking his glass. "Why asking the questions you already have the answers for?"

The lady somewhat let a sarcastic smirk come on her face. "Does that concern that plan of yours for _marriage_?", she asked.

Stahl laughed a little. "And why not?", he asked. "Think of it, my dear Ilinia: Stahl Arms and Visari Corporation, two of the greatest weapons industries in Helghan, _merge together_, in marriage between their most influent membership. And, when I become Autarch, of course... It will be _perfect:_ One Triad, one nation, one people, one leader, one vision, one purpose... _One corporation._ Both of us would have so much to gain on this, as well as our... _heirship_."

Ilinia simply looked at Stahl briefly, in a curious manner.

"You know, my dear Jorhan... You should keep dreaming like this.", she said, making Stahl stop with that arrogant smirk of his. "It does _wonders_ for that temper of yours. Quite really.", she finished as she left, leaving Jorhan somewhat confused and frustrated.

A male, staunch laugh could be heard behind Stahl. He turned around to see a bald, old looking man with a well formed mustache and an uniform that was Helghast, but quite reminded an antique from the Soviet Russian era.

"Well, Stahl...", spoke the once alive Admiral Orlock, laughing at it. "It seems I didn't need to do anything this time."

Stahl didn't say anything, he simply stayed by the table, anger rising at him as Orlock left as well, going to join Ilinia in one of the windows. The Admiral didn't need to look at Ilinia as she knew he was beside her. _'A sixth sense of sorts.'_, Orlock taught.

"Quite a show back there, my lady.", commented Orlock. "I suppose he didn't desist from the idea already."

"Obviously not.", spoke Ilinia. "But white grizzly hair and rubbish old looking is simply not my ideal for a pair."

"Heh, I thought he had that aspiration for becoming Autarch again.", scoffed Orlock. The Admiral did know of Stahl's _excess_ of ambitions, even the Autarch himself knew.

"He is too much convinced he'll be the next in line after my father.", spoke Ilinia. "Obviously, he doesn't know there are people more fit for the cargo, people... _twice_ the Helghast he will ever be."

Orlock was proud, as Ilinia knew exactly who she was referring to...

Then a noise came in from the people the stairs above, horns announcing the arrival of someone as important as the rest of the elite.

"Ladies and gentleman.", spoke a male voice by the doors of the residence. "Autarch Scolar Visari."

The doors opened as applause came in and a man entered the room. His clothing was not like the lavish wear Helghast elite men beared on, with the exception of a few ornaments that'd make him more of a railroad baron or an industrial leader of the 19th Century than a national leader. But that clothing was one to be more than respected, it had to be admired by the elite itself, as well as everyone on Helghan. His head was entirely bald, with no apparent sign of returning hair, a torn and stern face, rough with the eons of time. A severe look of blue eyes which could not be confused by anyone. The Autarch of Helghan himself, father of Ilinia Visari.

Ilinia was already facing Scolar when he entered, waiting in the position she learned to greet both her father and leader. As he approached her daughter, she raised her hand in courtesy, her white glove in await.

"Father.", she simply said.

Scolar gently picked her hand like the father she was, with both his hands and then, briefly after, he went on to kiss it like a gentleman. He looked proud of her own daughter, a beauty of his making.

"Ilinia.", he said. "No matter how many times I have seen it, nor where, my daughter, that dressing of yours still remains a splendid sight."

Scolar then extended his left hand to her.

"Shall we?", he asked.

Ilinia needed not to answer, she simply extended her hand to grab with her father's, black and white gloves intertwining together in_ harmony_, as she approached to embrace him. Another music started, a more calm one, but with saddening tones. Ilinia knew that time had come. But she was fortunate her father was with her, the same person who helped with that part.

A slow ball-dance had began between father and daughter. In a continued and perfect synchronized pattern, they each performed their moves, turns and steps in an exemplary manner. People who didn't know that Ilinia was his daughter could easily confuse Visari dancing with his spouse. But the people watching it were silent, even Stahl himself, but admiring the skills of those two. Especially Admiral Orlock, it wasn't everyday you could see an old-time friend and leader capable of such a thing, like _dancing_.

When the music ended, Ilinia and Scolar separated from each other slowly and bowed in reverence to each other. A wave of applause came across the room, as Scolar felt himself renewed thanks to that dance.

"Thank you. Thank you all.", he said, especially to Ilinia, who now retreated to the middle of the crowd. "Gentlemen, ladies, it is comforting to see you all once again, even at the eve of our next day. Now, if we can, please, continue..."

The crowd resumed their party as Scolar went on towards Admiral Orlock and the man beside him, one with a somewhat classic military should, but also a fine silver armor plate on his left shoulder, and a dark-red cape, reminding him of a futuristic version of the Roman Centurions. He was Armin Metrac, one of Scolar's most trusted generals, next to Joseph Lente, also a general, but far too arrogant compared to the charismatic blond haired person.

"Orlock, old friend.", Scolar said. "I saw you admiring the dance earlier, haven't you?"

"You haven't lost your touch as of yet, my Autarch.", answered Orlock. He then turned to Metrac. "Isn't it right, Armin?"

"_Enticing._", that was Metrac's only answer.

The party went on for some time before the tables and chairs could be brought into the room, in which all guests, including Ilinia, Orlock and Stahl sit down. Only Scolar went on his feet, in a particular stage with a microphone and some water glass for him to speak. There was full silence in the room and all guests were paying strict attention to him, as he spoke his words.

_"Obviously, it was never easy to congregate such a nation from nothing, especially when you would have people far more interested in their own agenda than in a plan of mutual gain. Perhaps only my good friend Orlock will remember this situation we passed on, when attempting to convince an industrial plant to join us, it had a name that I can't seem to remember. It was me, Orlock and two more bodyguards watching over us, while meeting the owner with twelve other people... A sign of bad luck, perhaps."_

A brief, depreciative laugh filled the room.

_"I only remember that man did not wanted to join our goals of rebuilding Helghan, and that those twelve men around him, carrying the oldest Earthly guns I have ever seen, were enough to hold the factory. I simply pulled that personal pistol I carried in that time. The man said: There is thirteen of us here, your ammunition is enough to only kill ten people. Can you remember it, Orlock?"_

"It was incredible the reply you gave him, my Autarch.", replied Orlock.

_"Indeed, good friend. After all, the words I spoke were: What if we kill ten of your men here, and the remaining two sons of bitches..."_

Scolar went on to drink some water before finishing.

_"I and Orlock strangle them?"_

A burst of laugh echoed through the room.

_"Of course, he was insulted, he said I would soon be dead should I attempt such a move, if not at that time. It was when Orlock answered the threat too, wasn't it?"_

Orlock simply got on slowly on his feet. "I said: You better do a real good work on it, then, you bastard, and I mean a REAL good work on it. Because if we aren't dead in four days, _you are in the fifth_!", he said, sitting down after.

_"Who could tell the owner did not back down on his threat?"_

The laughs echoed once again on the vast room. Scolar waited for the laughter to cease before restarting.

_"But now... It is serious this time... For this entire decade I have never seen such growth and prosperity we now enjoy. And it was all because of some things: The fact that the people needed to be under one flag and because of the values of the Triad: Duty, Loyalty, Obedience. 'Tyranny!', that is what the ISA and the people on Earth would tell. But there, the value of freedom is a privilege, already given for free at birth, like food to the poor. Here, on Helghan, we know better: It's something you have to work for. Here, the sweat we contribute to the Helghast as a whole is the currency to our freedom of choice. Many leaders believed that leadership was about the skill to govern the state. That is the function of the people who work with the leader. I discovered that leadership itself is about saying two words and only two words to the masses outside: '**Do so.**' and '**Enough!**'. Many here must now be thinking: 'How couldn't we see it was so easy to rule over the people?'."_

_"And I say, it was because we have allowed the people to decide what is good for the nation. But I ask: Do they really **know** what they want? How do they know, how can we rest safe knowing it is they, not someone capable of decision, who decide the best for us all? I answer: Look to the outside, what we are now. What has a divided people done in the past, better than this? Blood and sweat, the absence of liberty and a few bodies laying on the streets, are the heaviest of prices we pay for such things, but someone must have the courage to pay the price. As someone must have the courage to **tax** it. Conviction, vision, determination. The Triad of Leadership, the values that made me build what is all this now. Many on Earth complain about the leadership of one man alone over an entire people, but it was those 'one man' who ensured humanity's travel through out space, not 'many men'. It was the result-demanding policy and strict rule of the corporations who ensured humanity's prosperity and survival off-world, not some lethargic bureaucracy made by parasite clusters, sitting behind their confortable chairs, to prevent the so-called 'powermongers' from rising to their deserved place in history!"_

As Scolar stopped speaking a brief noise could be heard outside, by one voice alone and then by many others.

_"Listen."_, Scolar said.

**_"For the Emperor! Hail Visari!"_**

**_"Visari Victor!"_**

**_"Hail Helghan!"_**

**_"Helghan Forever!"_**

**_"Fight for the Dream, die for the Dream!"_**

**_"Servants in life! Heroes in death!"_**

Every men and women inside the Visari residence, young and elder alike, could hear the claiming the superior officers and soldiers said outside. How loyal they were to the nation. How grateful they were for it. Amongst the people paying attention, the one doing the most was Ilinia, who always inspired on her father for true leadership. Ilinia was indeed a Helghast woman, where she had no rights at all. But she had her inner right to be _enlightened_ by the clear words he spoke, that made no references to constitutions or laws, no jokes on human rights and such, but that enlightened but a simple fact, one she always knew ever since she was on the library. The fact humanity was letting itself _fall apart_ due to _simple, straight-foward laziness_. Her look towards Scolar was one of respect, but the shining on her eyes showed she had hope in his guidance. Would seem natural, given she was daughter of the greatest man on Helghan, but she always spoke for herself, as Scolar taught.

Scolar himself was proud too at the claims the soldier masses said outside. He just waited for the shouting outside to cease so he could return his speech.

_"I began to hear such words five years after I assumed leadership. Half of the ten years when I once asked for time, when I have already done so much. That is another secret of leadership, my people: Build so much in a few span of time, and they'll love you and worship you. You might even begin to admire the much they are capable of doing for the Helghast as a whole, and realize they just needed guidance and a tight leash. In the end we all know this: Democracy, the democracy from Earth, from the former land called United States of America, is a dead dream. An excuse the populace there found to become lazy and dull, only wanting to do their part at their time of their liking, or when things begin to get too difficult. The real democracy is what we see here on Helghan, the way of struggle. Every Helghast born and human as well has rights we do have to respect: The right to work. The right to produce. The right to serve. The right to fight. Beyond that, most is privilege. And the rest is duty."_

Afar, on the room, the very clear silhouette of Armin Metrac walked forward towards Visari's stage. He waited for Scolar to see him and give him permission to come forth. Then, Metrac came close to the Autarch and whispered something to his ear. Scolar dismissed him and returned to the last stages of his speech.

_"My people... I'm afraid the time has come now. Now, I must attend to what is to come. I now dismiss you all, and I can only ask and wish one of each: I ask you return now to the safety of all our beds, wishing the best of fortune for our brave men, out of many who'll die on the next days. As I wish a very safe and great future and hope for you and all Helghan, in what will come now. Thank you, and good night, my people. My sons and daughters of Helghan."_

A wave of applause came from the people who stood on their feet to do so, as Scolar retired to leave the stage and head to a door opposite to that he entered before. The rest of the guests went on to leave the house and head back to their mansions. Ilinia, as she was in her own house, walked up the stairs to her room. Arriving there, she could hear her father make the proclamation to his soldiers from afar, deciding to listen some more before going to sleep.

_"My people. Sons and daughters of Helghan. For many years, we have been a broken nation: Shunned, oppressed, and **conquered** by those we sought to escape! Ten years ago, I asked for time, and that time was granted by you! You, the strength in my arm, the holders of my dreams."_

_"Our forefathers embarked on the greatest exodus in the history of all mankind. An exodus for freedom! Helghan became that freedom! Our new world changed our bodies. At first, it weakened us, but in fact, we were growing... **stronger.** In the time you have given me, I have rebuilt our nation, I have rebuilt our strength, and I have rebuilt our **pride!** Our enemies at home have been re-educated, we have given them new insights into our cause."_

_"On this day, we stand united once more. On this day, those driven to divide us will hear our voice! On this day, we shall act as one, and we shall be ignored NO MORE! Defenders of the Helghast dream, **NOW IS OUR TIME!**"_

* * *

Ilinia didn't notice the time pass on while she had that memory being experienced on. It felt almost like a whole day, but it was, factually, one hour she stood there, on that position. Ilinia had already stopped crying and sobbing, but still retained a saddening look. Her face's makeup was somewhat a bit ruined from the crying, but at the time, it was something she wasn't giving a damn about, and she wouldn't do it now. She didn't bother to stand on her feet and retain the elite posture she had hours ago. She could only speak alone and sounding and to herself, as well as to the statue above her and on her back. And she did.

"I miss you so much, father.", she said, looking at the sky filled by the surface of that energy bubble mixed with the violent Petrusite irradiation outside. "I just wished you could cry on how is everything crumbling. Everything you built, everything we've done. Not just the human bastards. _Our own, too_. And they will kill us all if they are left unchecked."

She slowly picked herself up, now looking at the plating containing her father's full name and that of his family below.

"Father...", she said, hesitating. "Even as much as I obeyed you and respected your decisions, I must confess... I've done things away from you. I've _hidden_ things from you. And now...", she took a deep breathe before continuing her saying. "There are things I still have to do. Things I couldn't do while you were still here. Things you know it is _wrong_. Things that are contrary to your belief... and your _trust_. I can only say... I once wanted to do it for my own gain. But now... it has to be for everyone of us. It is wrong, I know. But... _we can't just let them win_. Let us only hope it will...", she hesitated. "It will be the better for us all."

Ilinia looked behind her, behind the path she'd have to look back.

"Father... I have to go.", she said, gently placing her stained white glove over the cold black marble of the base. "I only must ask, where ever you are, please... Regardless of what may happen in the next days, don't think ill of me, father. I only hope you understand it all. Farewell, father... _my Autarch_."

Ilinia left the statue, tracing back her steps to the mansion behind her. She had only that to settle, that matter with her father's soul and her conscience. Now, it was about doing it and going all the way.

No more as Ilinia Visari, daughter of the fallen Autarch.

But as Ilinia Visari, daughter of Helghan.

No more as Ilinia Visari, a powerless and afraid girl.

But as Ilinia Visari, a decided and determined Helghast woman.

And no more as Ilinia Visari, an orphan, rich lady of Constanine City.

But as Ilinia Visari, the leader of the female activist movement.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY PLANET VEKTA, SOUTHERN REGION, RAYHOVEN CITY**  
**RAYHOVEN CITY TRIBUNAL - COURT ROOM**

That tribunal wasn't so much used in the past, before the Helghast invasion. But then, the violent battles in Vekta City had transferred all legal acts and cases to that building, as Vekta City's tribunal was one of the many buildings put to ruins because of heavy fire. Such was the case of the Court Martial to come at the time.

The court room was nothing like standard judgment rooms, it instead was quite sparse allowing for several chairs and a frontal area for multiple defendants. The side held a standard jury section with the standard minimum number of chairs, which was fifteen peers. The prominence of bright white light as well as the very light green wall painting denoted the importance of the room, combining with the exceptionally clear white floor. The area where the judges sat was also generously wide and a bit above the area suited for the witnesses and defendant questioning, as usual. However, the central area of the judges table and chair was progressively elevated, giving room for two most influent judges in the table and the president of the current case on the center. In the front of the table, the evident symbol of the ISA flashed on it's authority for the human eyes on the room. There was also a larger symbol behind, surrounded with words forming an evident circle, the phrases divided by what would seem to be stars.

**INTERPLANETARY STRATEGIC ALLIANCE**

**SAFETY, LIBERTY, INTEGRITY**

The room was somewhat filled that day, with civilians wearing formal black and grey suits, military officers in their attire and the defendants in the front, wearing the standard clothing provided by the ISA Department of Military Corrections, a simple green shirt and pants with black shoes, the words _ISA-DMC_ flashing big and black on the back of the shirt. That was the dressing Sev, Rico, Natko, Jammer, Hooper, Devon, Miller, Kowalski, Alvarez, Lloyd, Dunbar and Gutmann were wearing. Jammer no longer had that hood on, thanks to the ISA personnel, revealing the full extent of her hair and head, which was loose and only decently brushed.

On the table beside, where lied the prosecution section, there was a few persons on dark suits, one with the look of fifty years old and two of thirty-five, as well as one with a white-gray military suit, decorated with medals and shoulder pads with yellow stripes and dark-red tie, but he was somewhat younger for the work, seeming like he was twenty-five to twenty-seven years old. That young one somewhat caught Sev's attention, given he had shark looks from his black eyes and the posture like he'd already won the case before it even began. The man was simply waiting for the thing to start and be done with.

Then, a voice already came in from one of the Military Police officers standing guard on the right side door.

"All rise!"

All members, both spectator, defendant and attorney went on their feet, as the twin doors opened and men started walking inside heading towards the judges' table, but they instead were wearing military officer attire denoting the highest ranking of ISA hierarchy.

"The military planetary court for the tribunal of Vekta is now in session.", the MP officer spoke. "The Honorables General Field Marshall Harold John Ayers, Colonel-General Owen Silver and Major General Clinton Davenport presiding the session. God bless the ISA, the UCN and their honorable court."

Besides the description of three judges, six others, without having their names said, also entered to occupy their chairs in the lower levels in the table. General Ayers, the seemingly only African-american amongst the judges, was quite mature and strong for a command position in the ISA, wearing the most decorated dark-green suit than the others and sat on the highest position, in the table's center. The other two people beside him, however, where as white as clear daylight, only their ages being the difference: The first, Owen Silver, was quite old and on the verge of retiring his position while Clinton Davenport was somewhat on his forty years old and still had much time to carry on in his military career. Still, Ayers wasn't the only black-skinned person in the court room, as there were some amongst the spectators as well.

Upon sitting on the central chair, Ayers started the process without delay.

"Thank you, officer, you all may now sit down.", he said, and everyone in the room went to their seats. "We now begin Court Martial process for the day May 26th, 2360, case 853-B-Vekta, the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance against elements of the first Helghan offensive expedition, sent on the apex of the Second Extrasolar War, April 23th, 2359. Defendant names are: Thomas Sevchenko, Ricardo Velasquez, Shawn Lance Natko, Maria Puentes, codenamed '_Jammer_', Maxwell Hooper, Jeronimo Miller, Sandro Alvarez, Donald Gutmann, Roger Nathaniel Kowalski, Finch Devon, Jennifer Lloyd and Moore Dunbar, codenamed 'Snowball'. It is noted that names Jason Narville and Ruckel Levi, codenamed '_Rodent_' are voluntary AWOL, is that correct?"

Sev leaned in to speak to the judge-general.

"Yes, sir, your honour, it is correct.", he said.

"Very well, mister Sevchenko.", continued Ayers. "The motive of the case being inquire of violations of the Human Rights accords and agreements between planet Earth and colonies, as well as violations of the military codes of conduct of both the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance and United Colonial Army. Violations are: Article 2-1948, Section A: Massive multiple homicide and murder, also known as Genocide. Article 2-1948, Section B: Conspiracy of willful, premeditated and voluntary intention to commit Genocide. Article 91-2001, deliberate disobedience of lawful orders towards warranted and/or non-commissioned officers of equal or superior rank, as well as interference with military hierarchy and command structure and disobedience towards one or multiple articles of standing military law, Insubordination. Article 133-2001, unlawful and illegal conduct, inside and outside operation field, unbecoming and undeserving of rank, status and occupation as a subject within military ranks, Conduct Unbecoming."

"Lawful judicial inquirers are: Harold John Ayers, General Field Marshall responsible for all ISA ground military forces stationed on planet Vekta. Owen Silver, Colonel-General responsible for all naval forces stationed on planet Vekta. Clinton Davenport, Major General responsible for all air, atmospheric, low-orbital and high-orbital space forces stationed on Planet Vekta. Nigel Frankfurt, Colonel and major Chief of Military Staff of Vektan Eastern Region. Paul Garrison, Colonel and minor Chief of Military Staff of Vektan Western Region. Sarah Louis Deveraux, Major of Interior Security, Vektan Southern Region. Leonard Maddox, Major of Inter-Continental Security, Vektan Northern Region. Jonah Roberts, Colonel, ISA Intelligence Division on Vekta. Rourke Hunter, Colonel, ISA Central Strategic Command on Vekta."

Ayers then turned to Silver. "General Silver, can you please read the transcription sent by the prosecutor part and the District Attorney's office on Earth?"

Silver picked up a paper of sorts and started reading: "Your honour, General Ayers, accusations are the following:", said Silver.

"That the defendants intentionally, deliberately and with full conscience of the illegality of their actions, committed yet-to-be-known actions which resulted on the sudden change in atmospheric and surface conditions of planet Helghan, homeworld to a post-humanoid species known as Helghast and political center of the Helghast Empire, provoking loss in audio-wave communication and failure to read biological life, natural and organic, on the surface, possibly death of every element of flora and fauna on the planet. Situation of these charges is aggravating given that, _One:_ Planet Helghan originally contained over ten billion confirmed in Helghast population, clustered in areas spread across the planet in political, industrial and commercial population centers. _Two:_ Defendants returned to planet Vekta with an unknown Helghast space craft, small fighter design, fueled by an unrecognized energy source. _Three:_ Violation and break of cease-fire agreements between the ISA Council and military high ranks of Vekta and chain of leadership on Planet Helghan, performed after six months of intense negotiation and agreement."

"Thank you, mister Silver.", spoke Ayers. "Performing judicial case today is prosecutor Linus Davies, Colonel of the United Colonial Army stationed on Earth, and defense attorney...", he stopped as he didn't see any person in suit besides the defendants in the front row.

"Gregori Slavick Hakha, Colonel of the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance forces stationed on Vekta.", interrupted the voice of the same name, now entering the room to join the defendants.

Hakha himself was wearing a dark green suit of his own, with white shirt and black tie, something proper for the tribunal, but not so fit for his Helghast look. Still, it was the only suit he was ever able to gather on for his early days of study in law school. Many of the people looked on with shock, awe and some with _indignation_ at the Helghast, that bald person of pale-skin with a suit, walking on the room.

"Good to join us... _Slavick._", whispered Rico.

"Now's not the time, Rico!", whispered Hakha, reprehending him.

"Mister Hakha, you were warned, the moment you chose to volunteer for this case, that your Helghast origin can cause significant influence in your defense of the defendants, may it be for better or worse. Are you still aware of this fact?", asked Ayers.

"Yes sir, your honour, I am, thank you very much.", replied Hakha, cordially, as he sat down besides Sevchenko on the far right corner.

"Very well, then.", spoke Ayers. "Then, perhaps, we can start the initial stages of this case's opening, starting with the prosecution. Mister Davies, if you please..."

The young man said nothing but he got on his feet to stand before the court room's people, with the judges watching behind him, starting his speech.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, honored members of this tribunal, high command of the ISA military branch.", he said. He then, as if he was mad, raised both his arms to the above, like a priest doing oratory.

"_DEATH TO ALL HELGHAST! THEY ARE ALL THE SAME THING!_", he shouted, in a slow manner. "_THIS..._ Is what you can hear in the shouting interior of one person... Not all those twelve people, but _one_ person, alone, sit here, in this court room.", he than progressed more quieter, but going to the defendants table, pointing his finger at Rico.

"_Him._ Ricardo Velasquez. His friends call him Rico.", he said. "Sergeant of the ISA infantry forces, twice known for his distinct actions here in Vekta. One, in the Space Defense Platform crisis caused by one of ours, traitor General Stuart Adams. The other was right here, in Rayhoven, in the chase and arrest of another General and another traitor we are well familiarized, Dwight Stratson, in the illegal smuggle of nuclear ordinance to forces loyal to the Helghast Empire, under the command of Autarch Scolar Visari at the time. Recognized war hero, man of action. An example for ISA soldiers to follow, born by occasion, not by us of the ISA, we simply trained him and armed him and sent him to action. _Or_ _is he not?_"

"Because, here's the question, if he's a war hero, why's he standing before court martial at this moment?", Davies asked, incredulous. "And that, ladies and gentleman, is because mister Velasquez_ is not the ideal example we are supposed to believe in!_ Because, behind Rico Velasquez, the _legend_, the _person,_ that Rico Velasquez is, is a _whole different story_. The person is a man of violence, with a past of uncontrollable violence, with a RECORD of violence! Not only this, but also unprecedented prejudice and racist behaviour against the very enemy he fought, with an almost **religious** fervour!"

"It is the duty of the military of not being afraid, ladies and gentleman. Not being afraid of the enemy, not being afraid of facing him, not being afraid of dying in doing so. But we must also not be afraid of _admitting our mistakes, our faults, the same way we admit our glories._ We must also not be afraid of admitting we were wrong when we gave permission to control portions of our infantry and a better position to a man so undisciplined and relentless enough to disobey authority and engaging targets even when not necessary, for the pleasure of _killing!_"

"Now, I don't have any prejudice against the person Rico Velasquez, nor the _'legend'_ he is. Quite the contrary. And that because it's not just him standing here, in this room, we have here people who collaborated on his side during the siege of Helghan! Thomas Sevchenko and Shawn Natko are known to serve in the same squadron Rico served. Maria Puentes was not from the same squad, but came to know him and join him in combat, as did Maxwell Hooper, as did Roger Kowalski, as everyone of the lot did! Eleven souls who stood with him, killing rank after rank of Helghast military personnel, either because it was in the way of the mission, either because the Helghast fired first... Sometimes, by pure pleasure too. And that very well qualifies them as _accessories and associates to murder_, given the charges presented today."

"The evidence we will present you this day, as well as in the following days, will show you the _murderer_, not the hero, that Rico Velasquez is. A man that didn't simply stop when all Helghast military personnel was killed, that he insisted to go on with civilians, women, elder, _children!_ There are three questions about this: 'How', 'Why' and 'Is He'. How did he manage to kill ten billion people in one stroke? Why all do this? _Is he capable of not only killing all those people... but also enjoying do so, taking some... macabre and sick pleasure in performing this?_ Is he so capable of hate, far beyond what any other humans could do? Unfortunately, ladies and gentleman, the evidence will point that way. But your decision will count on if the murderer, the responsible for all those nonsense deaths, is one man... _or all mankind_. These are my arguments, as well as the demonstration of several parties united to properly process this man, all depending on me, their prosecution officer, Colonel Linus Nickel Davies, UCA 6th Divisional Command, on this day, May 26th, 2360. God bless the ISA, the UCN and this court. Thank you, your honour."

* * *

Davies, having finished his speech, went on to his seat.

"The defense can now make their initial proclamation. Mister Hakha...", spoke Ayers.

Hakha went on his feet and walked towards the frontal area, facing the crowd and his defendants with the judges facing his back, like they did with Davies. Hakha, briefly after looking at the crowd, started his speech.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen. It seems that...", he started, somewhat hesitating in doing so. "Even in a place of authority like this tribunal, there is _irony_ present: The irony you behold even now. You see the irony of a Helghast defending a _killer_ of other Helghast. But I assure you, I am half-Helghast. Which makes my other half a human one, and a half irrevocably _in debt_ with the ISA and the people representing it. People like Ricardo Velasquez."

"Beforehand, I would like to indeed establish several facts: Yes, my homeworld, Helghan, is _dead._ My people are _dead._ Perhaps I may be the _last_ of my species, unless there are other Helghast elements who defected as well and I wasn't aware of. Indeed, Rico isn't a saint, properly said: Our 'first' encounter was not so _amicable._"

"But, should I be in his place, I would do the _same_ thing. But there's one point that the prosecutor, Colonel Davies, brought as true, and I would like to thank him for it: Yes, Rico _didn't ask_ to be a hero, as the ISA _didn't make him one_. We simply trained him and we armed him and we sent him into action, indeed. Both in Vekta and Helghan, even if he wanted to be voluntary for the action, the final decision was not his, it _belonged_ to his superior officer, the dead Colonel and, also, a war hero, Jan Templar."

"As it is also true his past was one of violence, and the factor of why he hated my people so much: Ask yourselves, how many of you were in a platoon in which, after a battle you could easily call '_massacre'_, you and you alone are the _only_ survivor? How many of you battled for a small city in which _only you_ managed to survive? Because this was known about my people, _they did not take prisoners_, and those they did take would suffer _far worse_ fates than a quick death. In the end, it is not a voluntary hatred against the Helghast Rico nurtured, his nature did it for him. _Survival instinct._ The same can be said for his colleagues, eleven men and women who were also trained, armed and sent into action by us.", he spoke gesturing into the other defendants than Rico himself. "This alone is hardily a reason for Court Martial, but rather _a medical examination._"

"The prosecution will present evidence, attempting to sway you to the fact Rico Velasquez, _alone_, is a monster. But if he is indeed a monster, then the ISA will also look far guilty than him, because the ISA _nurtured_ that monster. The ISA _nurtured all the other eleven monsters_. I admit, I have no evidence nor anything that can help me fight whatever they may present you in this court. But there will be also a serious flaw in the prosecution if they cannot answer the '_How_' Colonel Davies spoke of. Because, if they cannot answer that question alone, if they cannot present an evidence, whatever the faintest it can be, that it was possible to kill ten billion Helghast in one stroke, then I cannot prove that my 'clients' are innocent of willful and voluntary Genocide, but they cannot also prove they are _guilty_."

"I am Helghast. I too have had my moment of grief, anguish and _anger_ in seeing my only home, my only family of ten billion confused people, confused by a government _willing to sacrifice it's own citizenry for a simple victory_, either elite or proletariat, getting murdered by a sudden change in atmosphere only your Christian God could explain. But, still, I defend this man, Rico Velasquez, because I am also Human. The prosecutor claims your decision will either determine it's either one man or all mankind who's guilty of ten billion dead in just a few seconds. But, and this is a rather large **BUT**, he seemed to mean it _literally_. Because, truth be told, should that _'one man'_ be pointed guilty, then... there will be the certainty for the Helghast species, should they still be alive on Helghan: _Humanity is guilty, and the guilt appointment of Velasquez will certify it._ I do not know the consequences of it should it happen. But I, like Colonel Davies, have a duty here: To ensure my clients and my friend, dare I say, do not have to find out. And neither _anyone_ of us. Thank you."

* * *

Hakha went on to sit on his table, where then Ayers restarted.

"Very well, then.", spoke Ayers. "The prosecution can now call it's first witness for testimony."

"Of course, your honour.", spoke Colonel Davies. "The office would like to call defendant Thomas Sevchenko for testimony."

Sev then stood on his feet, walking towards the witness' table. A military officer walked on to the table too.

"Raise your right hand.", the officer said, and Sev followed suit. "Do you swear, in this court, regardless of the evidence shown or contrary argument, to speak the truth, only the truth, nothing but the truth, so help you, God?"

"I swear.", spoke Sev, sitting on the small chair.

Davies then approached the witness table to dialogue with Sevchenko.

"Full name and rank for record, please.", asked Davies.

"Sevchenko, Thomas Grant, Sergeant, First Class.", replied Sev.

"Mister Sevchenko.", started Davies. "It is informed you served in the same squadron mister Velasquez did, as well as mister Natko, is that correct?"

"Yes.", Sev deadpan replied.

"May I inquire how you came to meet?", asked Davies.

"Objection, your honour, unless it can show _relevance_ to the occurring case.", said Hakha.

"Sustained.", spoke Ayers. "Mister Davies, please, only referring facts."

Davies then picked up a small green file on the prosecution desk before returning to the witness' table.

"Mister Sevchenko.", started Davies once more. "It is noted here that, besides mister Velasquez and mister Natko, there was a fourth member in your squadron, Corporal Dante Garza, whom was killed in action in the Helghan Invasion, is that correct?"

Sev, before feeling nervous, was intervened by Hakha.

"Objection once more, your honour.", Hakha said.

"Sir, the next questions referring to Corporal Garza will demonstrate interest of _relevance_ to the case, I assure you.", quckly replied Davies.

"Are you absolutely certain, mister Davies?", asked Ayers. "Because, if this is a waste of time, it may have _serious_ consequences in your part."

"Oh, that I am, your honour.", replied Davies.

Ayers waited briefly, considering the decision to make.

"Objection overruled. Mister Sevchenko, please answer the question.", spoke Ayers.

"Yes, Colonel, Dante Garza was a member of Alpha squadron.", replied Sevchenko.

"This, mister Sevchenko, is a post-action report, with a precise description, sent by you and mister Natko, on the manner he was eliminated. Your words, as well as those from mister Natko, on the events surrounding Corporal Garza's deceasement.", spoke Davies, showing the green file he was carrying. "Words mentioning Sergeant Velasquez lack of conduct and _negligence_ which resulted in Corporal Garza's eventual fatality. Here, it mentions a hostage situation involving your unit and deceased scientist, doctor Evelyn Batton. In the words prescribed here, you spoke that Sergeant Velasquez, instead of waiting the call to flank the Helghast soldiers and effectively eliminate them and save lives, he _advanced foolishly_ into battle, resulting in three fatal gunshot wounds on Corporal Garza in the process. Is that correct, mister Sevchenko?"

"Not entirely...", answered Sev, but somewhat low that Davies sounded like he didn't hear.

"Excuse me, mister Sevchenko?", asked Davies.

Sev leaned foward to answer into the microphone.

"I said not entirely, sir.", spoke Sev, clearly this time.

"What do you mean '_not entirely_'? Do you basically mean that what is written here may be _wrong_?", asked Davies, defyingly.

"Objection, your honour. Inflammatory question.", Hakha spoke from his desk.

"Sustained.", spoke Ayers. "Remake your phrase, please, mister Davies?"

"Mister Sevchenko, it is written here, black words in white paper, your official version of the post-action report concerning the death of Corporal Garza, which is sustained by mister Natko was well, and now you claim that is not _entirely true_? What do you mean with this?", asked Davies, detailingly.

"Permission to speak freely, your honour?", asked Sev, looking at Ayers.

"Why such permission, soldier?", asked Ayers. "Do you wish to explain, in _details_, to the Counselor, is this it?"

"If that means answering _beyond_ a 'yes' or 'no', then yes, sir.", answered Sev.

"Go on, then.", answered Ayers.

"Thank you, your honour.", Sev obliged, looking at Ayers then to Davies. "Colonel Davies, the report should denote the presence of another ISA soldier on the hostage situation, and that the Helghast have executed that soldier moments before the actions that resulted on the death of my squad mate. Perhaps you forgot that part... sir."

Davies looking incredulous, seemed like Sev was trying to make fun out of him.

"_'Perhaps I forgot that part'_?", he asked. "Mister Sevchenko,_ are you aware that ridicularizing the court is a federal offense?_"

"Yes, I am, sir.", answered Sev, politely.

"Then how can you claim that I forgot the mention of an ISA soldier present in this hostage situation, written in this file?", asked Davies. "Do you mean, pardon the offense, to call me _stupid_, is that it?"

"Objection! Speculation!", claimed Hakha.

"Sustained.", spoke Ayers.

"I mean, mister Sevchenko, do you mean, by your assumption that I forgot the mention of the ISA soldier, that I _withheld_ information relevant to _suggest another conclusion?_", asked Davies, quite nervous at every turn.

"Objection, another speculation!", claimed Hakha once more.

"Colonel Davies, I will not say it again.", warned Ayers with a firm tone.

"Mister Sevchenko!", spoke Davies with a firm tone. "By I saying that I forgot the part of an ISA soldier being executed moments before mister Velasquez's rushed actions, do you mean that I_ intended to confuse an unconsidered action with one of negligence that-_"

"Mister Davies, this is enough!", reprehended Ayers.

"..._contributed to the death of your colleague, is **that** what you mean?_", continued Davies, expecting an answer.

Naturally, people suffering that kind of pressure would shout out the truth due to stress and anger. The problem was, Sev didn't lose his posture or his calm, which was unnatural even for Davies.

"I did not say you were _confusing_ things... sir.", spoke Sev, quite in control of himself.

A small, quiet wave of mumbling came across the room, but one even Ayers could hear.

"Order.", Silver said while beating the hammer he carried on the desk's circle.

Davies just looked at Sev, quite indignant and confused at the answer. A sign Sev knew: Davies _didn't know_ what to do. The defendant overcame him in the word fight.

"The office is finished with mister Sevchenko.", finalized Davies, nervous at it, returning to his table with his colleagues.

"Has the defense any questions for mister Sevchenko?", proceeding Ayers, quite in control, especially after the small episode occurred minutes ago.

"We do, your honour.", answered Hakha, getting on his, proceeding foward like Davies did.

"Mister Sevchenko.", started Hakha. "Despite my objection earlier when mister Davies asked you how and mister Velasquez came to meet, may I simply ask_ for how much time_ have you and mister Velasquez operated together, whether in the same squad or in different squads?"

"Two years, sir.", answered Sev.

"In these two years in which you and mister Velasquez operated together, have you ever witnessed any behavior changes of any kind in your squadron colleague?", asked Hakha.

"None whatsoever, sir.", answered Sev.

"Mister Sevchenko, psychological records do speak of mister Velasquez's uncanny behavior towards people of my kind. Helghast.", spoke Hakha. "Have you ever seen this behavior change for the worse?"

"Mister Velasquez's behavior was quite relevant, sir, but I haven't witnessed _any_ changes nor actions indicating such.", Sev answered.

"Does that also _apply_ to treatment with Helghast prisoners of war, actions with Helghast wearing ISA colors inside or outside the battlefield or with Helghast civilians?", asked Hakha.

"Yes, sir.", spoke Sev.

"Has mister Velasquez ever made _prejudicial_ comments on any Helghast-related matter?", asked Hakha.

"Unfortunately, he occasionally made, sir.", answered Sev.

"How prejudicial it was, mister Sevchenko?", asked Hakha.

"Somewhat minimal, sir, only standard prejudice against Helghast and the actions the soldiers committed.", answered Sev.

"Very well, then.", answered Hakha. "Now, concerning the report written by you and mister Natko and presented by Colonel Davies... It was informed that, amongst the hostages in which were included the mentioned ISA soldier, named Ashton Briggs, and doctor Evelyn Batton, there were also Corporal Garza and mister Natko being held under Helghast control, is that correct?"

"Yes.", answered Sev.

"According to the report, a shot was fired on the head of Private Briggs, resulting in his instant death, _shortly before_ you and mister Velasquez acted, as you mentioned to Colonel Davies, is that correct?", asked Hakha.

"Yes, sir.", answered Sev.

"However, instead of waiting to flank the enemies guarding the hostages, mister Velasquez immediately rushed into combat. Can you suppose it was in his instinct to act before another execution occurred?", asked Hakha, but before Sev could answer, he was interrupted by Colonel Davies.

"Objection, your honour, speculation!", claimed Davies.

"Sustained. Please, mister Hakha, rephrase.", spoke Ayers.

"Mister Sevchenko, given that a hostage was shot and killed by Helghast pointing weapons at hostages, was it possible that the Helghast planned to repeat it on doctor Batton, or your squad members, therefore giving Rico some reason of his own to not wait for the time to act, preferring to do it _that instant_?", asked Hakha.

A brief silence went on the room.

"Yes, there was quite this possibility, sir.", answered Sev.

Hakha then went on to his table.

"The defense is finalized with mister Sevchenko.", spoke Hakha.

"Very well. Mister Sevchenko is now dismissed from testimony.", spoke Ayers, as Sev went on his feet and the M.P. escorted him back to the defendant desk. "The court will briefly recess for lunch. One hour.", he concluded as Silver beated the hammer once more, but only one time.

"All rise!", spoke the M.P. officer as everyone stood on their feet and proceeded to the main door behind them. As he was also leaving, Hakha calmly thought.

_'A good first round. But let us see the next ones...'_

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, SQUARE D-19B - MAY 26TH, 2360**  
**FORT CHARON, 2-1-2 MILITARY SERVICE STATION**  
**HELGHAST MILITARY 1ST RESERVE'S BASE OF OPERATIONS.**

Yesterday's bureaucracy made it somewhat harder for Auran Stracht to transfer most of his armed forces to provide a twelve-hour turn security to the City Hall. He'd always do it in one of the turns while leaving his trusted Lieutenant to guard the home base of the 1st Reserve.

Bureaucracy wasn't supposed to happen at the time when Scolar Visari ruled over the Helghast. The problem was that Visari was dead and most of Helghan had been overtaken by the cataclysm, making problems with military records, forms and communication somewhat difficult. Now, it became a headache every single day, even when it meant a simple patrol occurrence catching up some interloper who wasn't supposed to be on the street during martial law.

Unlike the sparse 3-3 Fire Bases the Helghast Empire once used on Vekta to stage major assaults, the 2-1-2 Military Service Station that Fort Charon was had a somewhat poor defensive grid, having only a few watch towers with the customary troopers, with their mass-fabricated helmets and goggles and cheap armor, either carrying the famed StA52 Assault Rifle or the feared VC32 Sniper Rifle, as well as a VC25 Anti-Air Gun Battery alone, spinning at it's beveled cylindrical base with it's twin guns always pointing at the sky, prying for the next victim yet to taste their 45mm bullets. The floor of the base's inner perimeter was clear white, filled only with the gray modern-like military buildings occupying it as well as the simple concrete wall with barbed wire above surrounding and protecting the Fort from an open assault. Amongst the buildings included a medium-sized garage, suitable enough to fit the light vehicles the Helghast military had, the munitions depots with enough ammo to sustain conflict for one month, soldiers' firing range, the barracks with it's annexed mess hall and, last but not least, the Fort's command center, capable of communications with the world outside. The base didn't have anything more to offer than the essential, not even artillery batteries or support for air forces, making it just a pit stop for reservists and damaged vehicles.

Auran once remembered the name '_Charon_' as an Earthly legend, but one that the Helghast seemingly came to admire. It spoke of an unnatural boat man, whom came to take the souls of the dead and deliver them into the oblivion of a volcanic landscape many humans feared. Thus, the Helghast delivered the name, hoping the boat man would come to, one day, _deliver_ the ISA bastards into the same land for their actions.

The people occupying it, which was Auran's 1st Reserve, wasn't much of a rudimentary combat force, much less a _decent_ infantry division. Filled by simpleton troopers whom didn't have enough performance ratings to be in any other divisions of the Helghast military, only with the essential weaponry and driving quite outdated vehicles like wheeled, mobile cages known as Buggies, fast enough to allow scouting while supporting a top base with a frontal light machine gun for infantry combat. However, it was somewhat impossible for the gun to rotate, making cover while escaping seemingly impossible. The only other vehicle the 1st Reserve had, plus more decent than the Buggy, was the ATT-12 'Crawler' Armored Personnel Carrier, a predecessor that, like the Hound LBT, was left behind in favor of anti-gravity technology. Still, the 1st Reserve didn't have any _adequate_ ordinance, not even it's own set of Hound tanks, even less anti-armor weaponry to face enemy vehicles. In the end, the 1st Reserve of the Helghast Military was so much fit for escort and guard duty as AA cover combat, not having a single heavy-issue weapon or equipment. Not one at all.

The Crawler could be seen as the uptight, _wheeled_ cousin of the Helghast standard APC used by the Third Helghan Army during the invasion of Vekta, but the problem was that, despite carrying the same EAW25/4 Chimera Heavy Weapons Platform, used for anti-air defense, it was somewhat tighter than the updated model, which once allowed eight men inside, the Crawler allowing for only _six_ men to travel as passengers inside it. The Chimera had a side door for the gun operator and the driver, but the passengers got to enter in the_ rear_ door, as traditional with old human vehicles.

But today, it was about making up the first day of that security turn, playing watch guard for the Mayor against angry crowds and people known to be worse. Having left his formal officer attire behind in the barracks' locker room, Auran wore the traditional gray Helghast field uniform that contained his name in Helghast language, the torso armor that provided resistance only against small firearms, with some frontal backpacks containing his water canister, the standard respirator with it's thick hose pouring out, field rations and combat issued items, like a small glass, usable in situations for assessing a situation and how to deal with it. His belt holding his pants contained a few outdated StAG-4 fragmentation hand grenades that, despite being left behind by it's fabricator in favour of the grenade launchers, were fabricated en masse months before and proved more _useful_ against enemy infantry despite the performance of the ISA's M194 Fragmentation Grenades. There was also a waist on the belt allowing to hold the famed StA-18 Tropov Pistol, suitable for emergency situations and close-quarter combat, as well as a side backpack storing a set of shells for the shotgun part of the StA52. His pants were presumably tight, but they were comfortable in fact and allowed for decent mobility, having only knee plates for protection, their trail finishing at the bulky-like boot wear.

Such was the same clothing for most Helghast troopers standing line close to him, with the exception those were all wearing their helmets, googles and respirators while Auran didn't. There were at least twenty of them. In front of them stood yet another soldier, but his helmet had a white stripe paint literally dividing the grey metal of the helmet in two, which signed him as a Helghast Grenadier, but also as a _ranking field officer_. Auran Stracht's Lieutenant, Capal Izoti, who quickly took notice of Auran's arrival and made the traditional Helghast salute.

"Sir!", Izoti said.

"At ease, Lieutenant.", spoke Auran. "Is this it?"

"Aye, Commander.", answered Izoti. "Twenty of the finest for the first day."

"Good.", spoke Auran, then facing towards the Helghast soldier group. "Listen up! I know some among you are quite _unpleasant_ on us playing bodyguards for Mayor Skyler, that this was supposed to be the work of the lazy bums in the _Urban Enforcement Force_."

Some troopers, behind their masks, snorted in a quiet laugh, as Auran mentioned the UEF, which was far lighter than the 1st Reserve in armor and weapon matters, and their indeed supposed job. In the background of the group, a line of four Crawlers, with only their drivers and gunners, and five fully occupied Buggies, set as one type of each in every dot of the line, drove towards near the backwards of the trooper squadron.

"But the Mayor asked for military. He'll have the military! But the '_real_' military laughs at us, calling us _incompetents_ and shunning us for doing something they say '_boring_'. I say it's better to work on something boring than work nothing at all, not like the other military types the others are so quite acquainted with. We are not these types who do nothing, and we are not some incompetents either. We may be the unluckiest, but we are the most _hard working_ unit in all Constantine. Let us act just like it! Is that clear?"

"SIR, YES SIR, YES SIR!", shouted the trooper group.

"Good it is!", Auran shouted. "Hail Helghan!"

"HELGHAN FOREVER!", shouted the troopers once more.

"Let's move!", Auran said, proceeding to one of the APCs as the rest of the group. There was five troopers in each of the APCs shortly after. The fourth had Auran inside, therefore making it six men, all spaces taken. The tight space was something of a matter for Auran, but then, life in the military was never easy.

The line simply headed outside the base and into the city's streets. The destination: Constantine City Hall.

* * *

**PLANET VEKTA, SOUTHERN REGION, RAYHOVEN CITY - MAY 26TH, 2360**  
**RAYHOVEN CITY TRIBUNAL - WAIT ROOM C, PROSECUTION**

_"You are one of the best lawyers we could afford."_

Davies didn't do anything but simply stand in that window, looking at the city below while the pause for lunch was in progress.

_"We assured it'd be easy, everything was prepared for you."_

He didn't mind at the comments, after all it was just the first round of the trial. Anyone can lose earlier, but later... that'd be the turning point.

_"You had even more authority than that... thing they call a lawyer."_

The city was looking beautiful, with that clouded morning matching the urban landscape, alright.

_"And yet, that defendant was three times lower than you in rank and he knocked you at the first round."_

Davies simply turned around to the people sat on that room and clearly spoke: "It's not over yet."

The wait room in the tribunal for the prosecution office didn't look like a meeting room, more for a living room, given each one of the green sofas placed in there. There was also some wooden hack with water, coffee and some cookies to snatch something. The floor had some well-made tapestry but couldn't be seen in details because of the poor lightning in the room, in which only the faces of the other persons besides Davies could be seen.

An old man, overweight, with white hair and age bearing almost sixty. One of the members of the ISA council.

A forty-five year old male, with black dyed hair and glasses, wearing a visible dark-red tie. A member of the Helghast Right Association, labeled _HE.R.A_ for simplicity.

A bald, slender old person, sounding in his fifties, with mustache, similar to Helghast Admiral Orlock, but he was no Helghast. In fact, he was a secretary for the United Colonial Nations.

Last, but not least, was a thirty-year old Caucasian person, with some considerable weight, but not too much to change his straight form. A member of the diplomatic corps.

"It was simply the first round, and I think that Helghast prepared him the whole yesterday. The problem lies on the road ahead.", continued Davies.

"That's also the problem, Davies.", spoke the ISA Council man. "Not only he gained significant advantage, but we also used up one of our potential cards, which we may not be able to do so again."

Davies understood that, naturally, he referred to the file describing the death of Corporal Dante Garza.

"Also, I think it wasn't smart to focus alone on Velasquez.", spoke the HE.R.A member. "The other eleven may not easily go down with him as you thought."

"It's too late to change course now, gentlemen.", replied Davies. "And, as I mentioned before, there was _too little_ to be found on the other eleven defendants. Velasquez is the core point here: He goes down, the others go _easily._"

"I hope so.", spoke the bald secretary. "The media's cover of the trial, alone, has already dropped down ISA approval rating by six per cent, almost ten!"

"Still, there was something mister Hakha brought that caught my attention, on that excellent speech of his.", spoke the ISA diplomat. "Pardon my criticism on it, but he used your speech of 'one man or all mankind responsible for Helghan' to bring his point that, should Velasquez be called guilty then everyone is guilty too! I don't know about you, but somewhat that Half-Hig man actually managed to _sway_ the jury to his point."

"Which is why I need your influence, once again, to let me do whatever it takes to win this case.", quickly spoke Davies.

Suddenly, the people in the room seemed confused by Davies' request.

"What?", asked the ISA diplomat.

"_Are you out of your mind?_", asked the ISA counselor along. "We've already took a big chance bringing your desired witness to the court, anything else and the press might know of it, say the ISA wants to put those folks away at any costs, then we are screwed down to the neck!"

"Our association is also at risk with this trial, Davies, we might lose support by going any further.", spoke the HE.R.A member.

"Better to lose my mind than the next edges over the case, I say!", claimed Davies, with a firm tone. "On the other room there is a Helghast turncoat with a dozen of _morons_ I wouldn't trust a pea shooter with, probably laughing at our first fall down and how we must be vulnerable. And the problem is, the jury is seeing exactly a bunch of morons and idiots who just had the bad luck to trigger destruction at the wrong time, when they should be seeing _murderers and racists._"

"Heh. You speak like you were at war, Davies.", scoffed the diplomat, calmly.

"Oh, quite the contrary, sir, we are at war.", spoke Davies, "All of us are at war, we are _always_ at war. The difference is that they fought it in the field and we are doing so right here and right now, more with pens than swords. And you know _everything_ is allowed in war."

"For you, Davies, but Ayers doesn't quite agree with it.", spoke the ISA counselor. "He's a man of principles, and doesn't like people bending things under his nose."

Davies simply looked at those people with an intimidating look.

"Gentleman, facing an angry judge is quite easy to deal with. Facing a media scandal is easy to deal with. But it's not, sure as fucking hell, _too easy_ to deal with the consequences should that jury declare Rico Velasquez innocent.", he said. "It's quite easy to support the fact that humanity looks guilty by training, arming and sending him into action, if they declare him guilty, but not if they do it the other way around. Can you imagine the diplomatic problems you can face? No more negotiations, no more trading agreements, no cease-fire, nothing, if the Helghast are still alive and they find out about it. You know why? Because they'll be sure the ISA is not worth it, _for sheltering a mass-murderer in their ranks_. Most of your budget would be cut off for lack of work and transferred to a number ten times larger than those twelve morons. Not to mention the HE.R.A too will greatly lose more support than in under a manipulated scandal. _Can you bear that picture on?_"

The other folks in the room exchanged looks of nervousness on the truth Davies was spilling out his mouth.

"Rico Velasquez is a casualty of court war. I feel sorry for him, I'd give him the Colonial Medal of Honor if I could, but he's a _casualty of war_. As the other eleven are too unlucky and I'm sorry for it. I want that Carte Blanche to act on any length for the next days, and I want it _ASAP_. Now, if you excuse me...", he finished it, leaving the room to go to the toilet.

* * *

_On Wait Room E..._

The twelve defendants and Hakha stayed on that room for some time, waiting for their meal to be delivered. Their morale was quite high, given the initial advantage delivered.

"Nice one, eh, Sev?", spoke Rico. "Guess that Earthy lawsuit boy fuck didn't see that one coming."

"Yeah, no thanks to Hakha and his training hour here.", replied Sev, looking at Hakha. "Hell of a speech, by the way."

"Thanks, Sevchenko.", spoke Hakha, gladly. "However... I don't think it's the last of it on the court."

"What do you mean?", asked Hooper.

"I saw a look within Davies' eyes, something I've only seen on another man, which was Cobar. A true shark's look.", Hakha said. "That might mean he's willing to do whatever it takes to win us over."

"No, he can't do it, Ayers is too much of an honest judge to allow it.", Kowalski replied.

"That's the problem: I think Davies will do it _under_ his nose.", spoke Hakha.

The other people then seemed to rapidly lose their morale and exchanged serious looking.

"We won a round now. But we still better watch out for him.", concluded Hakha.

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY - MAY 26TH, 2360**  
**SOMEWHERE ELSE...**

"Well, well... seems everything is in order, as usual. The guns will be ripe for the picking.", spoke a male voice in that thick dark, beholding a depot somewhere in the southern region of the city, from the small view of an outdated computer monitor, showing images of a hacked camera from Constantine City's surveillance grid.

"Are you sure, boss?", spoke another male voice, also looking at the monitor. "Seems the glowing tin cans haven't forgotten our last visit."

"Oh, sure they haven't, and that'll just add more for the fun.", the first voice replied.

"You mean that bastard Stracht?", spoke the second voice, alarmed. "You know we don't tackle him, he'll chew us up and the wagons, _the other groups won't like that!_"

"Fuck the groups, fuck Stracht, we'll dry that storage either way.", the first voice spoke, defyingly. "You just ready the wagons for some more armor and speed."

"What about the mounted guns?", asked the second voice.

"I wanna race him a little bit, work him out of his base.", the first voice spoke, jokingly. "We leave him there and he'll _fat_ a lot. No, we keep the mounted guns light. Besides..."

The monitor shut down.

"Taking risks is part of Scavenger business."

* * *

**NOTES:**  
- The original notes denoting clear statement for this story, like the AU warning and such, can be found in the prologue (Or chapter 1, whichever you like).  
- Special Thanks to: ** Ankhata**, **Enigma-Nemesis** and **Avenger09** for the warm comments.  
- Never thought making Helghast names was so hard to make up.

* * *

Chapter 4 is still under development, especially now that things are about to warm up and I'm close to the six chapters. After those, you can expect some combat at long last. However, I should take some time reading other Fanfictions to make up decent battle scenes. Read, enjoy and comment. Thank you.


	5. Chapter 4: Planning and Discussion

**THE BLACK ROSE  
AN ORIGINAL AND UN-OFFICIAL KILLZONE FAN-FICTION**

**CHAPTER IV - PLANNING AND DISCUSSION  
**

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY - MAY 26TH, 2360  
UNDERGROUND AMAZON FORTRESS - INTELLIGENCE AND STRATEGIC ROOM 4-A**

Like several rooms in the underground fortress the Amazons spent twenty years building and operating, the Intelligence and Strategic rooms were well illuminated for the task of planning the moves based on intelligence gathered at the time from the vast network of informants on Constantine City's surface. These rooms weren't just fit for planning before the 'action' moments, they were also capable of instant command with groups operating. The room in particular contained workstations for communication officers, radar terminals for visual intelligence reading, and the huge table with generally a map covering the whole urban area of Constantine City, with gray and red geometric primitive figures over it. The lengthy, gray slim blocks placed on vertical positions represented infantry groups, while those same on horizontal meant mechanized and tank divisions the military still used. Normally, there would be triangles representing known approximate area for air units, but their use had been canceled by the Helghast Central Military Command weeks ago, in spite that there'd be no clear, present or immediate airborne threats. Of course, that was the problem with military decisions: Sometimes, they were bureaucratic, sometimes they were simply too pig headed. The map itself had man made figures made with thick red pens, denoting arrows, circles and a separate white paper with a rectangle too.

The room was quite filled with people that day, given the general steps of strategy were about to be announced to the Joint members. There stood some Amazons, dressed like all the others but with tiny golden Helghast ornament denoting higher ranks of the Amazon military hierarchy. Amongst these Amazon superior officers stood Thirsha, Karen, Livia and Raltha watching the map, as well as Sulja with an apparent officer's staff with which to point areas of interest on the map. In fact, all needed to be summoned to that meeting were there, but one: the sixth member of the Joint.

She, _the most important of all people to hear what had to be said,_ didn't appear.

"Where's she, Raltha?", asked Karen. "Why isn't she here?"

"Don't ask me, I don't know.", Raltha simply answered.

"Isn't it some lack of respect?", Thirsha said. "As a member of the Joint, she'd had the _minimum of decency_ to come!"

"Perhaps we may need to do the planning without her, then.", commented Sulja.

"Go on.", spoke Raltha. "I'll talk with her later."

"Very well.", spoke Sulja. "First news: the plans have somewhat been slightly altered, considering there were changes on military routines, but nothing that will disturb the main stages of the first assault."

"Slight alterations?", asked Livia. "Like what?"

"Our street informants reported that troops from the 1st Military Reserve have been deployed to protect the City Hall, most likely due to the food riot two days ago.", answered Sulja. "I've been checking what they are capable of, as well as their Commander, called Auran Stracht. Only basic weaponry and vehicles, except for the AA batteries on their APCs, which may cause some trouble. Aside from this, they will not harm our advance. Also, it seems the 5th Hound Division has been mobilized to the other side of where it was, so they'll take longer then we imagined to give any support."

"Very well.", spoke Raltha. "What of the major plan?"

"The first stage's task will be the assault on the communications station on Proteus District, we need to cut communications between the army, without that, we can easily pick off isolated groups during the assault.", spoke Sulja. "As you know, our thinkers managed to develop a large, but still functional version of the Vocal Altering Devices, VOCADs for short, which will be hidden beneath the clothing layers the soldiers utilize. With those, we will cloak our operatives inside the station. They'll have to be pairs in different time schedules for the checkpoint, so there won't be any suspicion. Six of them, this will be the number, will enter the station's and, at the codename's saying, will secure the station's garage for the delivery truck who'll unload additional twelve Amazons in full battle gear amid the cargo crates, plus weaponry and ammunition. Then, it'll be seizing the station by shutting the energy and clearing the primary areas, which are the transmission room, the radar array and the entrance by itself. The six are to destroy their VOCADs during the assault to avoid post-battle investigations by the military, should they gain the upper hand."

"_'Should they gain the upper hand'_, Sulja?", asked Thirsha. "You speak as if they would _actually_ prevail."

"They can, if we let them.", explained Raltha. "And she's right, it'll take only one VOCAD for them to think there are hundreds more."

"Thank you, Raltha.", replied Sulja, gladly.

"You're welcome.", obliged Raltha as well. "Go on."

"Distraction forces.", Sulja spoke, pointing at red rectangles set vertically denoting Amazon infantry on some parts of the map. "Three units of our estimate infantry, codenamed _Peony_, _Azalea_ and _Hawthorn_ will deploy from underground exits in the subways and move in towards the old Macarin hotel here, close to the Central Military Command, waiting for the signal. Upon the codename's saying, _Peony_, _Azalea_ and _Hawthorn_ should start attacking targets to pick off parts of the military defending objectives from the other stages. Targets should be the Helghast CMC, City Hall, Krestnik Barracks and Fort Charon. Since the purpose is provoking noise, the units have been assigned heavy weaponry, both deployable machine guns as well as anti-armor equipment, as well as our Assault Bike unit, which should be under assembly in isolated and abandoned garages as we speak. Perimeters and ambushes should also be formed in several points near the distraction area, both to stop reinforcements and provide additional distraction against stragglers."

The Joint members only looked at Sulja as she explained on the map with attention.

"Now, I have agreed that, until completion of stage two, the objective is to _only distract_, not take and hold. Should one of the units be too successful in it's mission and eliminate all defending hostiles, they are to spread and roam the city or help other units suffering serious stall.", she concluded.

"Stage two, which should begin thirty minutes after stage one, will involve capturing our prime targets of interest, which are the Aerial Port and the Victorian District housing the heavy-duty factories from which we'll use the machinery to assemble the heaviest of our ordinance.", continued Sulja. "The parts are all separate and delivered randomly among the containers on the loading area, therefore it might take some time to assemble the first vehicles. The Aerial Port has stored several jet-bikes the military abandoned after the failure of the Vektan campaign. That'll be our air support until the first of our own air units are assembled, armed and ready to deploy. Contrary to stage one, these two targets are to be held at all costs, we'll work from these points on the next stages. Units _Rose_ and _Goldenrod_ should be responsible for each of the targets, respectively, with _Sagebrush_ unit, with our engineers and machine operators, appearing after the Victorian is secured, as well as _Orchid_, containing our best ensigns in flighting simulation heading to the Aerial Port. After these two stages are completed, all units will return to our new staging point and re-arm, and set plans for construction of our own radar and communications post."

"The third stage will focus on the capture of two specific buildings, the Subway Tram Control Station at Orlan Drive and the south-eastern power plant near Dussala, from which we'll reactivate the train system and transport infantry groups for deep strikes, supplies and vehicle hijacking and quick mobilization. One of these missions should include the destruction of the Stahl Arms weapons depot, named Iron Cross, which hoards the ammunitions for most of the Helghan military."

"By the end of this stage, the fourth and final should mean our return to our targets in stage one, this time to take and hold. By then, we should estimate only small groups attempting to cluster once more, and the final sweep should take some time.", she concluded.

Raltha simply looked at it, as well as the others, before breaking the silence.

"Not bad.", she said. "Not bad at all. But is there a backup plan for... _unforeseen contingencies?_"

Sulja waited a moment before answering: "We're still thinking on it.".

"I'm quite sure you are...", commented Raltha.

"I do not decide what happens on the battlefield or whatnot.", spoke Sulja.

"I know.", Raltha quickly spoke. "But... what of the civilians?"

Sulja gathered some courage to answer that question. Civilian casualties in combat was no simple thing to bear.

"During stages one and two, we'll be in return fire, our soldiers will make sure their target is hostile. After those, we will assume all civilians have entered their homes to hide due to the intense firefight, that is when we will allow them to fire at will.", she answered.

"How long should it take for the enemy to react?", inquired Karen.

"Given the confusions, I can calculate one hour, give or take a few minutes.", answered Sulja.

"Enemy resistance?", asked Thirsha.

"Only infantry and light vehicles at the beginning, but I don't doubt they will head for the tanks once they are 'awake'. And, as I mentioned, no air support as they abandoned it. But also, once they discover the Jet-Bikes, they will not forget to bring Anti-Air along. No artillery as well, at least, not during the massive confusion that the city will be.", answered Sulja.

Then, silence went on for a while, as Sulja virtually answered all questions.

"When will it start?", asked one of the high-ranking Amazons in armor.

"We are yet to decide the best time. But our best calculations mention two to three days, somewhere between 17:00 and 19:00.", answered Sulja.

"Very well.", spoke Livia.

"So be it.", seconded Raltha.

"I second it.", replied Thirsha.

"As do I.", spoke Karen.

"Decided, then.", spoke Sulja. "In the following days... we march."

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, SQUARE C-11 - MAY 26TH, 2360**  
**HELGHAST CENTRAL MILITARY COMMAND - GENERAL DEFENSE SUMMIT**

The meeting room where the General Defense Summit usually gathered in the CMC was somewhat_ tight_, with a considerable space of a dining room and a table of the same sort, with only six chairs, each belonging to the representatives of the remaining Helghast divisions, as well as the frontal seventh chair where Colonel Nolt presided: Someone ought to control the radical morons from doing any stupidity during the meeting. Aside from that, simple windows with no curtain were the only thing decorating the dull room. In the past, there was no need for such actions, as the Helghast military was united under firm leadership, be it under Scolar Visari himself or his trusted subordinate, Admiral Orlock. But then, in this time of almost seven months, everything went on to hell, and the military had to do something concerning their next actions. That was when Nolt was appointed the settler for final decisions amongst several of the things the Military had been debating.

But it was hard to do such a thing with the five Commanders and Captains _trying to get over each other,_ vying to even _surpass_ Nolt. Those five were far worse than his trusted one, Auran Stracht, the only one who seemed to have some _humility_ compared to the rest. Yet, Stracht had a smaller voice in the Summit, because many thought he still had to achieve a _'level of pride'_ fit for a Helghast. Nolt knew better: Stracht was the Commander of a Reserve force, something no Helghast officer wishes to command, and _that_ was the reason of it all.

These three Commanders and two Captains somewhat wore different attire, though a few of them looked the same. Two of them wore their standard social military officer clothing, two utilized field operations uniforms, but the final one, besides Nolt, caught the attention, as he wore full battle gear with blocky, white plating denoting some newly made armor, with black markings in Helghast language and the triangle symbol on his right side. The marking of Stahl Arms, from whom the military had most of it's weaponry. His young bald head's face seemed like a snobby one, with an arrogant look from his black eyes, his convincing smirk and an air who demonstrated superiority. For Nolt, it was no surprise: It was typical of people who worked with the second worst person in Helghan, only after traitors, like Gregor Hakha.

And the young man was the first to break the silence.

"Heh, I see the softling hasn't appeared. Now he earned himself one point... for _indiscipline._"

"Leimar Vadish... We have not even started the Summit, and yet you begin with running that spewing machine you call a_ mouth_, Captain.", commented Nolt.

"Perhaps that spewing machine may be in _his mouth_, Colonel, do you not agree?", replied Leimar. "Coming from one who serves with a group of _weaklings_ I would not trust a stone with..."

"Stracht's behavior is not the matter here, Vadish.", spoke one of the Commanders in military officer attire, Commander Morai Narekh of the Urban Enforcement Force. "Not that I don't complain that he isn't here, his voice is_ meaningless,_ but we have other issues to talk with."

"Agreed.", spoke Captain Rahab Pravo, the man in field uniform responsible for the heavy armor. "Like the matter if should I enforce the tank presence on the streets after what happened two days ago."

"Cobar's sake, Pravo, will you start this same motion _again?_", asked the other officer dressed Commander, Drax Kamarish. "This time you utilize a **_simple food riot_** to prove your point!"

"Which might become far worse!", protested Rahab.

"_That's enough!_", shouted Nolt. "You did not had to reply his claims, Kamarish, and you, Pravo, it is not yet your turn! The word goes on to Commander Khaine Lazha, of Survelliance and Security. Commander?"

The last Commander dressed in field uniform stood on his feet.

"Gentlemen. You know I'm amongst one of you who doesn't concern about troop maintenance and deployment. You know that I can do my best with the most minimal possible. We adapt, we improve, we overcome. That's what soldiers do best. Because we have the duty to protect some things, here in Helghan and even here, in Constantine City. The honor of the Empire, the sovereign rule of the Triad, the authority of the government, the safety of it's subjects, the integrity of the Helghast. And I ask you something, only now, because our integrity lies compromised.", spoke Khaine. "In the days passing the literal hell, we have indeed witnessed riots and raids, from both discontent masses of our populace to the Scavenger bandits themselves. It is becoming more and more possible at every turn because of the large gaps in city security and it's enforcement, which may prove that even Martial Law may not become a deterrent. I need resources, technology and manpower to reinforce our surveillance systems through out the City grid."

"Really, Lazha?", spoke Morai, with a sarcastic tone on his mouth. "And of _how much_ may we be talking about?"

"Whatever it takes to go beyond the systems within the station at Proteus District. Perhaps to even build another Communications Station.", replied Khaine.

Rahab immediately went on his feet.

"Our resources are already stretched to the limit, just in _maintaining our current personnel._", spoke Rahab. "We simply don't have enough to build and maintain another radar! And we won't sacrifice any units operating right now."

The other commanders, but not Leimar, applauded and spoke agreement words with Rahab.

"You speak like this, Rahab, because, perhaps, you fear losing control of one of your tank divisions, perhaps like what happened to poor Kamarish's Air Force. But I may very well be asking help to Captain Vadish instead of any of you.", replied Khaine.

"Oh, really?", scoffed Leimar. "_And why should I comply with that?_"

"Because your corporation, Stahl Arms, may have the technology necessary to properly set a backup surveillance grid and still not raise any costs with maintenance.", replied Khaine.

"I didn't spoke of motive, Lazha.", replied Leimar, in all his arrogance. "I'm talking about _proof,_ something that may convince me to go along with your request. After all, our agreement remains on, even after your _moronic_ military leader opened fire on forces loyal to Stahl Arms."

A loud bang was heard on the table, a landed fist at ground zero belonging to an angry Colonel Nolt. "You'll treat the memory of Admiral Orlock with respect from now on, Vadish, or I'll choose another member of your company for representative!"

The tone of Nolt's voice clearly denoted he wouldn't accept the insult. That was because, a few hours before the Petrusite cataclysm, the military of Helghan and Stahl Arms' forces engaged one another in arms at the former space platform. However, as there was no recovery from video footage or transmission records from the battle, it was hard to tell who drew first blood. Nolt somewhat believed it was Stahl Arms itself who started it, as radical and unpredictable as they were, not their reserved strategist and leader.

Leimar, however, went on with his arrogant snort. "_Predictable._ Easy to provoke and anger... Hubris is indeed the greatest problem with you, military types.", he spoke. "I, however, have other interesting issues to attend to, so, if you excuse me..."

Leimar went on to the exit, leaving the other military officers, but stopped when he approached the main twin door.

"Also, Nolt...", Leimar spoke. "Even IF you chose another representative of Stahl Arms for this table meeting... _He isn't the corporate Chief of Security._"

After those words, Leimar then really retired. Nolt just didn't accept that attitude of his and went to carry on the Summit.

"I see your motion was denied, mister Lazha.", he spoke. "Next matter: Relocation of troops from the Power Plant at Dussala to Toula Pass..."

* * *

**PLANET VEKTA, SOUTHERN REGION, RAYHOVEN CITY - MAY 26TH, 2360**  
**RAYHOVEN CITY TRIBUNAL - COURT ROOM**

"All rise!"

The shout from the Military Police officer, playing bailiff for that Court Martial, denoted the arrival of the judges, including Ayers, and the ending of the lunch hour. All persons returned to their respective places and Ayers himself started once more the trial without delay.

Hakha took the opportunity to behold his opponent, Colonel Davies. He didn't seem to have his arrogant look, but instead was somewhat somber and serious. Maybe, for Hakha, Sev's acting hit him harder than Hakha would've thought.

"Sit down, please.", spoke Ayers, everyone taking their seats. "Now that the lunch recess is finished, we can return to case 853-B-Vekta, the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance against the Helghan expedition. The prosecution office can now call for their next witness."

Davies leaned in to the microphone on his table. "The office would like to call defendant Shawn Natko for testimony.", he spoke, getting on his feet.

Natko also went on his feet, going to the witness table. The same officer which made his procedure with Sevchenko repeated with Natko: "Raise your right hand.", he said, Natko following. "Do you swear, in this court, regardless of the evidence shown or contrary argument, to speak the truth, only the truth, nothing but the truth, so help you, God?"

"I swear.", spoke Natko, sitting on the chair. Davies then retraced his steps back to the witness table.

"Full name and rank for record, please?", asked Davies.

"Natko, Shawn Lance, Corporal.", spoke Natko.

"Mister Natko...", started Davies. "Is it correct you served on the same squadron as mister Sevchenko and mister Velasquez?"

"Yes, sir, I did.", spoke Natko.

"Have you ever seen any demonstrations of either mister Velasquez's recklessness or malicious intent towards Helghast people?", asked Davies.

"None whatsoever, sir.", spoke Natko.

"In the report previously presented in this court, it also mentioned your witnessing of mister Sevchenko's _reaction_ towards mister Velasquez due to the death of Corporal Garza, is it correct?", asked Davies.

"Yes, sir.", spoke Natko.

"You believe it was due to the death of Corporal Garza itself, or mister Velasquez's actions which resulted on it?", asked Davies.

"Objection, your honour, the office is confusing the witness.", intervened Hakha.

"The answer to this question is relevant to the case, your honour.", spoke Davies.

"Objection overruled.", spoke Ayers.

"Well, mister Natko?", asked Davies.

Natko took some time before answering: "I believe the latter, sir."

"So you do admit in believing that Velasquez's actions on the hostage situation were _an act of negligence_?", asked Davies.

"Objection, speculation.", spoke Hakha.

"Sustained.", spoke Ayers. "Colonel Davies, please rephrase."

"Mister Natko, are you absolutely certain that mister Velasquez's actions were the factor of mister Sevchenko's anger, not the death of one of his fellow soldiers itself?", asked Davies in a firm tone.

"Yes, sir.", spoke Natko.

"The office is finished with mister Natko.", finalized Davies, calm this time, returning to his table.

Hakha went on his feet, heading towards the witness table.

"Mister Natko...", started Hakha. "Now... I know I do not know you closely nor served with you in the same squadron, but perhaps you can tell we both know mister Velasquez is not one so prone to _subtle_ manner, am I right?"

"Well, sir, you could say that.", answered Natko.

"Then, how many times did your superior officers complained of or reprehended mister Velasquez for off-combat behavior?", inquired Hakha.

"Objection, not relevant with the case.", spoke Davies.

"Sustained.", spoke Ayers. "Mister Hakha?"

"Mister Natko, could you please read...", Hakha spoke, returning to his desk to pick up another file. "...the actions of Sergeant Velasquez in the Vektan Southern Region, during the Helghast invasion? Most specifically, the assault on a Helghast artillery line blockade at a street in Rayhoven?"

Hakha opened the file and gave it to Natko to read.

"Confirmed hostile encounter between ISA and Helghast Empire forces on March 11th, 2357, Rayhoven City.", started Natko. "Assault and successful elimination of enemy artillery batteries impeding vehicle and infantry advance, as well as an entire platoon of Helghast armed personnel. Credit due to Sergeant Ricardo Velasquez for effectively flanking and charging enemy group, albeit he received a direct order to wait until orders to assault were delivered. Witnessing of light breach of authority confirmed by Lieutenant Barreto Ybarra."

"Thank you, mister Natko.", spoke Hakha, as he picked the file once more. "Now, are you familiar with Lieutenant Ybarra?"

"Yes sir, he was my drill instructor.", spoke Natko.

"You can see, from this report, Lieutenant Ybarra denoting Sergeant Velasquez failure to obey an order to stand by while his infantry suffered major artillery and machine gun fire. And yet, Lieutenant Ybarra _credited_ him as, according to the report, his actions also saved thirty-seven ISA soldiers.", explained Hakha. "Do you believe that, were mister Velasquez to have obeyed those orders, those thirty-seven lives would be yet saved?"

"Objection, speculation.", spoke Davies.

"Question is relevant with Colonel Davies inquire on the matter.", quickly responded Hakha.

Ayers paused to reflect.

"Overruled.", spoke Ayers.

"But sir-", spoke Davies before Ayers interrupted.

"Protest signed and officially logged.", spoke Ayers. "Mister Natko, could you please answer the question?"

Natko waited some time before answering: "No, sir, I don't believe."

"Therefore concluding, mister Natko, that mister Velasquez actions, while _impulsive_, can effectively save lives _more_ than a coordinated plan?", asked Hakha.

Natko waited before answering: "Yes, sir, I believe that."

Hakha stepped back to his table, along with the defendants. "The defense is done with mister Natko."

Ayers then consulted his 20th Century watch before saying: "Very well, then. If there are no more presentations to show, I declared official ending of this case's first day. We resume it tomorrow at thirteen-hundred hours. Court is adjourned."

"All rise!", spoke the bailiff M.P. officer. Silver then beat the hammer twice before all stood on their feet and headed towards the exit door. The first day of the case was done with and Ayers, Silver, Davenport and the others went to another court room to handle another court case.

The straight, wide corridor, filled with classic wooden doors and seating benches, Hakha simply looked at Ayers and the people surrounding him, people he could identify with ease: One was a member of the ISA Council he participated before his retire, another a diplomat, the third a secretary for the United Colonial Nations and the last person a human sympathizer of the Helghast and it's Rights Association, _HE.R.A_, for short. Those people with Davies barely meant good news, they had the power to give Davies the length he needed to win the case, even contrary to the regulations imposed by General Ayers.

Hakha waited for Davies' 'friends' to walk away before approaching him.

"Davies.", called Hakha. His target turned around to face him.

"Oh, yes... The _'Half'_-Helghast.", provoked Davies. "I only hoped I could saw you in _'half'_, indeed, so your _human_ self would allow Velasquez and his cohorts to suffer _proper punishment._"

"As I _feared_ you would side with _people with influence bigger_ than yours...", spoke Hakha. "I _know_ what you're up to, and _how you love so much to win._"

"_Of course I do._", spoke Davies. "War is no place fit for _weakling_ fair play, you should know better,_ you fought it_."

"Arrogant Earthly behavior.", provoked Hakha. "_Typical._"

"You may have won this round, Helghast, _but your men are going down,_ one way or another. There's no more help to them.", spoke Davies.

"Of course there is.", spoke Hakha. "Let them be, it was only collateral damage."

"_Collateral damage?_", scoffed Davies. "The only collateral damage I see is the failure true diplomacy and demonstration of humanity should they be innocent as you claim. It's what you really want, isn't it, Helghast and Human fighting to the bitter end, out of pure, raw hate?"

"_IF_ they're still alive, Davies, something you can't prove!", claimed Hakha.

"Oh, but I can prove your men did that genocide.", spoke Davies. "And I WILL. I never lost a case in my career, and this won't be my first time."

Davies turned around to leave.

"It will be, Davies, do you know why?", asked Hakha and Davies stopped his walk. "No, it's not about your arrogance. It's because of your _'going by any length'_ policy. No cheater is winner... _Colonel._"

Davies simply scoffed at it and resumed his leaving.

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY, CITY LIBRARY - MAY 26TH, 2360**  
**NIGHT SHIFT**

Raltha Olan had been looking corner after corner of the known places in Constantine City for the member who missed the Strategic Reunion. It was something rude to her as well, given _she_ gave the orders to start the military campaign that'd reclaim female rights and authority, replace the current administration with a more competent one and start devising a means to preserve the energy emission of the shield bubble. In the end, she was nowhere to be found, but one place, and one Raltha knew it'd happen only at night: Her workplace, the Library-Archive of Constantine City.

The library was vast, both in lower and higher levels and with a very well clean appearance, with the most well-organized tall bookcase lines, each containing specific topics for reading. The floor itself was white marble colored, decorated only by the huge Helghast Triad painted at the entrance. Other sections of the floor were decorated by classic, fine made lines crossing each other. Two sparse steps connected the lower and higher levels, illuminated by the great glass dome above, with a symbol similar to the Helghast Triad, but, instead, there were three hands forming the Triad, hoarding swords to beyond. The old symbol of the Empire's _predecessor_, the Helghan Corporation.

However, it was night time, already, and only the dim light of the shield bubble was what provided light for the dome and, thus, the library, meaning Raltha had to use lights to either walk on the book lines or work at the circular reception desk with it's own triad on the front, verifying military records sent by the CMC and organizing books for return to their cases, either by class or alphabetically. Curiously, she liked that hour, one which meant hard work, because it included cleaning the library floor and the bookcases, sometimes. She felt a sound of serenity every night so hard to explain.

Then, she saw a dim, yellow light of an incandescent light bulb in one of the far areas, which had tables for reading.

_'She's here.'_, Raltha thought. Then she picked up her lantern to walk towards the light, leaving the reception and giving the entrance of the library the feeling of a ghost building.

The corridor Raltha walked into was somewhat reserved for male Helghast only, containing books about economics, philosophy, politics, law procedures and military methodology. These were the reading material that made Helghast commanders the most dangerous of the kind. As that had made the Amazons a serious menace as well. And that was the reason it was reserved for men, because female competence with intelligence gathered from that book meant somewhat of a great, terrifying power. And in a society as chauvinist as the Helghast, the males _needed_ to remain in a superior position, even after the endangering number of females ceased to make them a _'survival'_ priority. Raltha quickly noticed a small void in that case, fit for a book, meaning it was her indeed: Only _she_ had the courage and patience of reading such material.

By reaching the end of the corridor, she slowed her pace to come closely to the uninvited guest reading that book, her back faced to Raltha. Her shoulders were somewhat bare, the remainder of the body being covered only by a lavish black dress. On another chair of the same table was some sort of cloth piece Raltha knew it was her cape and hood disguise for city visit. Her hair remained a well styled one, with a silver comb keeping it upward. Raltha simply shut off her lantern and approached the figure.

"Do you not _ever_ sleep?", asked Raltha to her friend, Ilinia Visari, perhaps the most rich and influent of her friends.

"It is too hard many times, Raltha.", answered Ilinia, still focusing her attention on the book. "Too much happening on my mind."

"Yes, I know, but you also caused quite a rust today.", commented Raltha. "The whole Joint was wondering where in Helghan you were."

"You mean the strategic summit?", asked Ilinia. "That is the least of my concerns, especially when you already know _all_ the details."

"_'Know all the details'_? How do you know?", asked Raltha, in a curious manner.

"Because I delivered to Sulja personally.", answered Ilinia. "Not only delivered. I_ made_ them as well."

Raltha was aghast at that answer. Then she scoffed at it.

"Heh, I knew that was obvious, Sulja is capable of only acting in the field.", commented Raltha. "You are the only one who reads too much of the military books in here."

"Change of times call for preparations, Raltha, you know it better than anyone.", answered Ilinia, pausing her reading to look at her friend. "Besides... We both know we should forgive Sulja for her faulty lines. She simply cannot think at a long term strategy, besides all her capability. That at least should be a thing to _understand._"

Raltha liked that answer and the manner Ilinia spoke.

"You prepared that speech, haven't you?", asked Raltha, with curiosity.

"Do you think I was too fast?", asked Ilinia.

"Of course not, good pace.", answered Raltha. "But I think the _'long term'_ part would offend Sulja a little bit."

"I will remember that.", Ilinia agreed.

"Speaking of which, what are you reading this time?", asked Raltha.

Ilinia simply put a place mark on the book and closed it, revealing a grey, solid steel cover with black words in Helghast language, which meant.

**MALUS VEDEK**

**STATE MANAGEMENT THEORIES  
**

Raltha simply looked at the book's title, then her surroundings, the small public reading area that helped guide librarians through the bookcase corridors.

"You know, Ilinia...", spoke Raltha, pausing for a moment. "I have spent both best and worst years of my life here. I will miss this place, at least for the next two to three days."

"You think so?", asked Ilinia, re-opening the book in the part she marked. "Because, I do not know about you, but... I will miss the library from_ tomorrow to onward._"

"Tomorrow, what do you mean?", asked Raltha, curiously. Ilinia simply looked in her eyes with serious attitude. Raltha didn't had to ask anything else as her eyes told her some sort of terrible truth, which made Raltha's face be one of concern and nervousness.

"You... you mean the combat starts _tomorrow?_", asked Raltha, alarmed. "But- but Sulja assured it would be in two days!"

"She and myself lied.", answered Ilinia. "We had to. As I told her to tell the truth to the other members in covert."

"Why that scene then?", Raltha inquired, clearly mentioning the strategic meeting.

"To confuse our enemy.", answered Ilinia.

"What do you mean?", asked Raltha, not understanding.

"I fear Skyler has an informant.", answered Ilinia.

* * *

**PLANET HELGHAN, EASTERN REGION, CONSTANTINE CITY - MAY 26TH, 2360**  
**NIGHT - CITY OUTSKIRTS**

The night on Helghan, outside the shield, was too dark for moonlight or any star to penetrate, allowing the dark, sickening green color of irradiated Petrusite full dominion of the atmosphere and environment, it's virulent air, far worse than that of old Helghan before the cataclysm, whirling in a chaotic manner, saying it was unpredictable on when an Ion storm could emerge or a _dusty_ one: A picking up of the strongest winds possible, shaking the dust in the ground and driving it at unmeasurable speeds, like a desert's sandstorm.

Indeed, ever since the cataclysm came and covered Helghan, it became _nigh impossibl_e for any living soul to arrange for proper surface shelter, the only ones being in caves or the huge debris of former spaceships, war machines and buildings of the once great Helghast Empire. But, of course, the very few Helghast survivors have been passing hellish hours, and those, of course, outside the shield bubble that protected Constantine City.

People like the bald, ragged-dressed man, wearing no mask of the sort, beholding the city beneath the shield. Despite the fact the air was irradiated and posed a threat to his health, it was something he didn't give a damn. In the first days after that new atmosphere came, he passed through brief asphyxiation before he learned to adapt and breathe as minimum as possible.

_'Tomorrow... Now that'll be a lot of fun.'_, thought the man beholding the shield. Obviously he was talking about the big heist he and his group would pull. It'd be picking up the guns, fooling the military all over town and then selling them to the black market and buy some supplies.

Of course that bald man had attracted the attention of an enemy in particular, a Commander of the Helghast Military 1st Reserve. It was because of him that Auran Stracht became an _expert_ at hunting his group as well as the others, making that man the most hated among the others, as he was a literal _'military magnet'._

But then, for this man, life was an adventure, his father taught.

And, for Sven Vandis, an assault to Constantine City weapons' depots was no exception.

Yes... Tomorrow, for him... It _would_ be a lot of fun.

* * *

**NOTES:**  
- The original notes denoting clear statement for this story, like the AU warning and such, can be found in the prologue (Or chapter 1, whichever you like). But I'll repeat those in the next chapter, and thus, every six chapters from there on.  
- It's almost the time for some gun action, something inspired on films like Black Hawk Down, Saving Pvt. Ryan and such, but we won't let the judicial process against our ISA friends left out. But expect to see battle scenes to be short, on multiple POVs, but with more content than a poem.  
- I've took too long because of the house reforming I'm doing around. It's been difficult to make Chapter 5 without problems going on. The problem wasn't content, it was the time to do it.

* * *

And once again, another chapter finished. Read and comment. See you around.


End file.
